


After Hours

by Everythingwent



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aang (Avatar) Needs a Hug, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Aromantic Mai, Asexual Character, Azula (Avatar) Needs a Hug, Azula (Avatar) Redemption, Badass Katara (Avatar), Badass Suki (Avatar), Badass Toph Beifong, Bisexual Aang (Avatar), Bisexual Ty Lee (Avatar), Bisexual Zuko (Avatar), Bloodbending (Avatar), F/F, F/M, Gen, Hakoda (Avatar) is a Good Parent, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Iroh (Avatar) loves Tea, Iroh is a badass and we always ignore it, Katara (Avatar)-centric, Katara is a badass and she knows it, Kinda, Lesbian Azula (Avatar), M/M, Mai is cool, Minor Azula/Ty Lee (Avatar), Not Beta Read, Oblivious Zuko (Avatar), Only hetero story ill write about tbh, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, POV Aang (Avatar), POV Iroh (Avatar), POV Suki (Avatar), POV Toph Beifong, Parental Hakoda (Avatar), Past Jet/Katara (Avatar), Precious Aang (Avatar), Protective Iroh (Avatar), Protective Toph Beifong, Protective Zuko (Avatar), Stubborn Katara (Avatar), Suki & Zuko (Avatar) Friendship, Toph Beifong & Zuko Friendship, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, because i love kataang, evil Katara, we die like lu ten lmao
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:41:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27663533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Everythingwent/pseuds/Everythingwent
Summary: AU: Katara is a bloodbender under Hama's and the Red Lotus's control acting as their assassin when she manages to catch the attention of the Avatar and Chief Police of Republic City herself. Can she manage to throw them off their trail before she gets caught?Prince Zuko hires Water Tribe Ambassador and Detective, Sokka to find a missing person for him. Can they manage to find them before it's too late? Or before feelings are caught?"It may not look like much, but it's honest work." - me, while writing this
Relationships: Aang & Toph Beifong, Aang & Toph Beifong & Katara & Sokka & Suki & Zuko, Aang & Zuko (Avatar), Aang/Katara (Avatar), Azula & Mai (Avatar), Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Azula/Ty Lee (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Ming-Hua & Zaheer (Avatar), Order of the White Lotus & The Gaang (Avatar), P'li/Zaheer (Avatar), Sokka & Order of the White Lotus (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Sokka/Suki/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 21
Kudos: 53





	1. Nothing good happens in the rain

**Author's Note:**

> As long as you guys have known me, you know I'm notorious for posting some dark concept atla fics and then deleting them just as quickly as they've been published. This time, I intend to complete this fic and leave it up because I'm tired of deleting them and not letting anyone see. This fic is about bloodbending, murder, unethical (& dumb) decisions, with a sprinkle of romance.
> 
> I did my best and of course, I expect some form of criticism because well... this is a big canon divergence from Avatar or Legend of Korra. Plus, I am an awful writer bleh. [ gets on my knees ] Please, if you can, comment, give kudos, or bookmark this fic and I'll be yours 5-ever.
> 
> Love you <3 and I hope you enjoy this fic :)

“Again,” Hama instructs Katara.

Rain hits Katara and Hama but both seem unaffected. The rain is calming, soothing, and protective as it blesses the two waterbenders. Hama stayed standing in the lake, Katara on the wetland. Her shoes were wet and it bothered Katara as she jumped and delivered a blast of water but Hama easily countered by forcing her will on Katara.

She forcibly is on her knees and in pain. Her knees and elbows were lit on fire and her eyesight was growing hazy and the ground seemed closer but Hama sat Katara up without touching her.

“Blood bending is an art that is rarer than the word rare,” Hama states as she effortlessly slid to Katara and released her, “After all, I made it.”

Katara stays on the ground, her knees feeling less on fire but more like a jar of mud. It took her a minute but she stands and puts her gaze on her grandmother. Her graying hair and ever-growing wrinkles worried Katara but she didn't say that. Even though Hama is loving, she always said that showing compassion and empathy is a weakness.

So, Katara has a face that’s similar to a wall. An unbreakable one. “I’m sorry-” Katara is cut off by a sharp pain to her cheek, and she falls again. She’s angry and hurt but doesn’t show it.

“Never apologize to your opponents,” Hama snaps, “You think they’ll care when you slip an ice dagger in their chest and you apologize?  _ No. _ ”

Of course. Katara stands again and watches as Hama goes back to her position. “Try and bloodbend me.” Katara breathes in, she can feel the moon empowering her and giving her strength and willpower. The moon loved her and Katara loved the moon back.

“Remember,” Hama reminds, “You have to think outside the box. Don’t let traditional bending run your mind. If you do, you might as well build your grave.” She reminisces about the Fire Lilies, the tree bark, the condensation that puffed her hair but ultimately aided in her first win against Hama.

Everywhere has water. From clouds to an ant, there is liquid. A bendable liquid. She closes her eyes and breathes again, trying to focus on a blob that contains water.

She threw her hand over her head and the other in front of her and Katara knew she succeeded when she not only felt some weight on her fingers but also heard a grunt from Hama. She opens her eyes and sees Hama in pain, her mouth downcast and her eyes wide like she saw a dragon thought to be extinct.

For a moment, Katara doesn’t let go of Hama. She focuses on her pain, her expression, and thinks about it. What if she killed Hama?

Hama, as loving as she is, is a tough lover. Katara can barely cross a line between a loving punch and a real punch. They stay like that and Hama didn’t say a word despite her face contorting in agony. Katara smiles at it.

Her heart beats quicker and Katara is close. She’s so close to potentially killing her mentor with a swift hand movement. Crack her neck, bend the blood out of her body, crush her heart, make her drown in her own native-element,  _ She’s so close _ . It’s tempting and seducing Katara, the smile growing into a grin.

“P-Please…” Hama begs and Katara is almost thrown off by that. Hama is too prideful sometimes. If she were wrong, she wouldn’t be because she’s an adult. If Katara proved a valid point, Katara was wrong because Hama knew more because she was old. If Katara were to critique Hama’s seaweed soup, it was Katara’s tongue that wasn’t working correctly, not her nimble fingers.

But Katara doesn’t let go of Hama. Not yet. She’s a quick learner and manages to bring her mentor to Katara. “Please what?” She asked Hama. Katara wanted to hear it. She wants to hear the most prideful person on Earth  _ beg her _ to let her go, like she was a hungry Armadillo-Bear in the desert, desperate for food that isn’t sand. She stares down at Hama, the weight of the elderly woman growing distant as she forces Hama on her knees.

“Please what?” She asks again.

“Let go of me!” Hama pleads, “Please let go of me!”

Katara doesn’t do it. She can’t afford to show sympathy. It’s like another test, she can’t be a good person. No, it’s too late once she enjoyed the view of Hama being in pain. Hama lets tears flow out and Katara scoffs. She wanted to mock Hama, tell her that maybe, she can go a little easier on Katara. She’s nearly a waterbending master and she mastered healing.

But she lets her go. Hama lays limp on the ground but Katara doesn’t check if she’s alive. She sits next to her and hugs herself.

Hama isn’t dead but Katara knows she’s in for a good punishment.

She’s right. Later on, she got whipped several times and Katara grew numb by the tenth whip making contact with her skin. Hama called her a traitor but Katara thinks otherwise. She ends up eating breakfast in the corner while Hama is at the table, eating happily.

The inn was open at 8 am and Katara didn't rest. She’s in pain and feels like a ghost.

But someone visits The Inn and when Hama kicks him out, Katara figures that the man wasn’t good. They’ll probably have to get him in the next full moon. She walks to Hama, broom, and dustpan in hand when she asks, “What’s that?”

Instantaneously, Hama grabs her wrist and runs to the office. She sits Katara on one side and Hama across from Katara. “Have you ever heard of the Red Lotus, Katara?” She asked Katara.

Katara shakes her head. It was such a dumb question, Katara was sheltered from the moment her mother died while giving birth. “I’ll sum it up,” Hama informs. The gist of it is that the Red Lotus is an anarchist organization wanting spirits and humanity to coincide with one another while killing off any political figure.

“What’s the point of this?” Katara questions.

“Well, they want you to join!” Hama excitedly says, “You do need a job. I just can’t do all this hauling by myself.”

Katara furrows her eyebrows. She doesn’t want to join the Red Lotus and to be perfectly honest, Hama can’t keep people in the mountains forever. The last time Katara saw them, the woman ended up dead because Katara threw water at her head and froze it making her drown because she kept begging. From there, Hama was forced to kill her puppets and get rid of them via feeding parts to animals.

Of course, no one saw.

“Will I be able to travel the world?” She asked nervously.

Hama nods eagerly.

“I’ll…” Katara chooses her words wisely, “I’ll think about it.”

“Two days.” Hama deadpans.

Guess she won’t be able to think about it.

**-**

  
  


Aang is traveling with Toph, Suki, and Sokka on Appa, getting soaked. Being the Avatar isn’t an easy task even though he previously did this 9,999 times. They’re in the air and Aang smiles before he sees the woods. “Guys, wanna rest there?”

“If I can put my feet on the ground and see, then it’s better than sitting on Appa,” Toph replies, her feet on top of the saddle.

Aang didn’t snap but before he could say anything, Sokka gives him a pointer, “Don’t people get murdered in the woods?”

“That’s what makes sleeping in the woods all-the-more exciting,” Suki closes her fan and tucks it in her dress band, “Besides if we do get murdered, We’re Team Avatar! I’m a Kyoshi Warrior, you’re the Avatar, Toph is the best earthbender, and Sokka is Sokka!”

So Aang lets Appa land in the middle of the woods and the team goes and gets stuff that’s needed: Their beds, wood, and food. Aang was assigned with wood, Suki with food, Toph with the beds, and Sokka assisting Suki.

He walks in the darkness, Momo at his side chattering quietly. His gait isn’t the most confident but he reminds himself that he’s the Avatar. No one can kill him, not without a fight at least. He rubs his companion’s belly out of habit.

It was a few minutes in when he almost tripped over a fallen tree. Aang chuckles but it stops when he spots something… or someone. He grabs Momo and sits him down. He sees a young girl and an older one on the ground. The one with brown hair is just sitting peacefully, taking in the rain while the older one seemed like they were sleeping.

Before Aang could call them, the older one sat upright and grabbed the girl. But as they were leaving, the aged woman turned straight towards Aang as a shiver went down his spine. It’s an elderly woman, why is he scared? He wastes no time in running the opposite direction and grabbing poor excuses for burning material.

He arrives at the campsite and is relieved to see his friends sitting and eating their food. Aang sits next to Sokka, and it’s Suki who said something ominous to Aang, “Toph said she possibly could hear people screaming underground.”

Sokka clings Aang, “She needs to stop that.”

But Toph wasn’t laughing or cackling as she normally would if she were pranking them. She’s deadly serious, “I’m not joking. I hear people screaming.”

“I think we should investigate it.” Suki offers. “Aang?”

Everyone looked toward Aang and he didn't know. Aang wants to help people but it’s raining, it’s dark, he’s already scared. “Does anyone have scary stories?” Aang randomly asked. Suki looked disappointed but didn’t push further.

“Oh! Oh!” Sokka raised his hand, “I do! But, this isn’t a--” He made air quotes, “A story. It's a true event. It deals with my sister.”

Everyone seemed stiff upon the mention of Sokka’s younger sister. It was something Sokka rarely mentioned when Aang visited the Southern Pole when he was younger and recruited him simply because Sokka was funny. Sokka closed in on himself and focused on the flames, while Toph summoned a rock to put her feet on and Suki crossed her legs, putting her hands on her lap.

“When I was five and she was two, Some Pirate ships invaded our village in search of some good waterbenders. I had no idea why they needed Waterbenders but they invaded and I remember trying to find my little sister. It was mayhem and I could barely see where I was going, but I managed to go home before I heard a small voice yell  _ Let me go! Mommy! _ ” The fire sizzled, “When I went in, I only saw my mom’s dead body and the blue curtains putting in the cold air. I tried to chase after them but I was too late. To this day, Gran-Gran can hear my little sister beg her kidnapper to let her and mom go.”

Aang and Suki hugged each other while Toph stayed to herself. “Do you… Do you miss her?” Aang finds himself asking.

Sokka unconsciously raises his eyebrow and hums before answering, “I always think about her. If she’s alive, how is she, can she waterbend, and most importantly: Is she okay?”

Suki gets up and rubs at her boyfriend’s shoulder, kissing his ear. Toph sticks her tongue out in disgust. “Gross.” She comments and Suki chuckles.

They spend the night huddled around each other in the tent.

  
  


**-**

**CURRENTLY**

Aang sets his staff down dramatically as he’s in the morgue with Toph. Another politician is dead and it follows the string of murders that have been committed recently. The room is blue and smells of cleaning agents, cabinets lined on the wall for storing bodies. “His name is Yukata Fuji.” The Diener unveils the corpse and Aang looks at his face for a long time.

“Wasn’t he at the council?” Aang asked Toph.

“Not anymore clearly.” Toph answers. Aang lightly punches her, resisting the urge to chuckle.

“His cause of death is unknown, but it’s similar to Saito Ukyo, & Udo Nakasone. The body is on top of the cart, the white blanket covering most of his body. Aang touches his forehead, the surface cold and unforgiving. He momentarily forgot the hospital is mostly waterbender-dominant and this is their way of preserving the body until burial. Freezing it via freezing the liquid inside their body.

“So, just like Saito and Udo, there’s nothing,” Toph mutters, her heart picking up speed and then resuming back to normal. It’s frustrating and Aang couldn’t stand it, “My assistant is going to follow it up. Jin, Earth Kingdom girl with two braids. Aang let’s go.”

Aang follows the woman out and leaves the hospital, the irritation from Toph palpable and existent as they walk on the sidewalk, ignoring their titles of Avatar and Chief police just to walk in silence. He playfully brushes his cloak against her metal armor and Toph glances at him, her eyes staring right through his soul. Or just at him.

“What is it, Twinkletoes?” Toph questions, looking away from him and ahead instead.

“Wanna drink?” And it’s those words that make Toph Bei Fong, Respected Chief Police, drag Aang to the nearest bar and sit across from him, drinking a shot. He watches Toph Bei Fong sink onto the table, her arm being the pillow and her finger twirling the shot glass.

“Thank you, Aang,” Toph whispers and it was so soft and unexpected that Aang wouldn’t have caught it. They were opposites, Aang notes. While he deflects, she goes head-on, While he dodges, she punches, while he sugarcoats, she doesn’t. They couldn’t be more different but yet… have a bond. It made Aang smile.

“No problem.” Aang answers and sips on his apple juice. Unlike Aang, Toph can hold her alcohol. But that isn’t a bar to be proud of, considering Aang gets crazy after two and Toph after four maybe. It’s those amounts of drinks that made Aang and Toph sing and yell at the lop of their lungs. Sure, Aang is sober but he likes having fun and then using these moments to tease the Greatest Earthbender in the world.

But soon, the fun dwindled and abruptly, Toph gripped her stomach and grabbed Aang, dragging him to the female bathroom and ended up vomiting the drinks and food into the toilet. Aang takes off her metal plates to rub her back. “Get me water.” She demands and while Aang would’ve bought up her vulnerability, she would always say,  _ Are you saying I can’t defend myself?! How dare you say such a thing to your Earthbending teacher?! _ He simply obeys her order and leaves.

But not before bumping into a woman who was washing her hands. She falls and Aang ends up on top of her. He panics and quickly gets back up, offering a hand to the Water Tribe woman.

She doesn’t take it but when she’s at eye-level, her glare was prominent and deadly. “What are you doing in the women's restroom?” She questions, her brown hair swaying over her shoulders.

Aang stammers. He couldn’t believe that the Water Tribe woman he sees is pretty as a Fire Lily. All people are pretty, men and women alike, but she… she transcended the word  _ beauty _ . Her hair-loopies were braided and pinned back, her blue eyes resembled the storm and its destruction but Aang would want to lose himself in it, she had muscles and Aang knows that if she isn’t a gifted waterbender, she’d still be a formidable opponent.

“Marry me!” He proposes.

“No.” And with a napkin, she puts it on top of his head and leaves out the restroom.

“Could you not?!” Toph interrupts and Oh! Aang forgot! He races and grabs a cup of water before running back and giving it to Toph.

She drinks it as if she were in the desert again, the kidnapping of Appa still fresh in his mind and how badly he treated his friends at the time. She finishes and only says one thing, “Smell.”

“... The toilet?” Aang asked with uncertainty in his voice.

Toph frowns, her eyebrows furrowed downward. “No, stupid,” Toph sniffs loudly, “The room!”

Some part of Aang didn’t want to smell it. He knows the citizens of Republic City can sometimes not care about the noses of others and shit a hurricane. But he smells the room and instead of feces or some nose-strangling scent, he smells… copper.

A few seconds in, he can hear drips like water dripping on the sink. The smell became so dominant that Toph covered her nose and Aang formed an airball around them. All Aang did was look down and he saw a hint of red. Blood.

Just like Airbender speed, he gets out of the stall and opens the one next to him with a swift air blast.

  
Aang wished he had Toph’s eyes so he could be spared the details of the scene but since he doesn’t, he’ll describe it.

The wall behind the corpse was adorned with blood, the floor wet with the same substance. The corpse sat with the aid of the toilet, their top knot cut and tossed to the side as their hand was mere centimeters away from it, the red t-shirt wet and stuck with their own blood. But he hears the guttural voice of the Firebender, “ **Help…** **Me**.” They say and their eyes stare up at Aang, desperation so visible that it almost made Aang falter.

He runs towards them, ordering Toph to call her students while he stays with the Firebender. “Who did this to you?” Aang asked, sweat forming around his armpits and face, hand gripping the slippery hand of the Firebender.

They tear up, their mouth moving desperately to say their perpetrator or  _ anything _ , Aang wants them to say something, a sign of life that they seem to be losing. But Aang’s hope and his nonexistent healing abilities were in the end, unhelpful.

The hand slips through Aang’s tight grip and the eyes now stare right through Aang instead of  _ at  _ Aang, the head tilting to an uncomfortable pose. He gasps, his hands going to gently slap them.  _ Wake up _ , he hears someone say,  _ Wake up!  _ But it isn’t working. They aren’t waking up and Aang swallows down the panic. He’s the Avatar and he  _ can’t  _ panic.

But he can’t help it as he heaves and  _ thinks.  _ Who else was here? Who had this much time to do such a kill that not even the greatest Earthbender could sense?  _ The Water Tribe Woman. _

He stands, the blood now visible on Aang’s hands and clothes but he couldn’t care. He looks around the bar, but she wasn’t there, he looks outside and of course, she wasn’t near.  **He took too long** .

“Aang!” He hears Toph, “Are you-?”

“Yes!” Aang cuts her off and it was far from the truth with the Airbending Avatar. He isn’t alright, He isn’t okay. How could a day with his close friend go so south?! He can’t fathom it! Did the Water Tribe woman do this? How could he not hear the noises?! The life lost makes Aang tear up and he knows Toph can hear as he can sense her arm reaching out hesitantly but ultimately, doesn’t touch him.

He hears her leave and an odd side of him thanks her for letting him wallow in his self-pity.


	2. Are you into me? Like I'm into you?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Katara meets a talented Firebender and Non-bender.
> 
> Where She wants to be free.
> 
> Where Suki arrives and calls upon her Trump card.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Black Friday special <3

Bumping into the Avatar himself after committing murder was nerve-wracking. Taking a life was too easy for Katara nowadays but potentially getting the Avatar on her trail? It was something conflicting. On one hand, it’ll make her job that much more exciting and fulfilling. There isn’t a downside to excitement but on the other hand, having the Avatar on her trail will inevitably get her caught because while she’s the greatest waterbender, the Avatar has three extra elements on their back  _ and  _ a group of friends along with the Avatars endless knowledge due to centuries, eons maybe, of knowledge

The cons outweigh the pros but as she leaves the bar, she stops for a second. In the Red Lotus, every second should be counted. If you miss a second of productivity, karma will come and you won’t be able to stop it. Her loose brown hair clouds her vision momentarily as she turns around but the harsh training of the Red Lotus arrives unwelcome in her muscles and she leaves swiftly.

  
  


-

When Katara is at the Red Lotus base in the caves. She's greeted by guards who step to the side and see Hama. Her gray hair is in full force as are her wrinkles and the stench of iron and rotting corpse. If this is how old people smelled like, she hoped she wouldn’t grow old to smell as bad.

But Katara knows in a job like this, you won’t be able to grow old. You kill people except for the people you killed to jump at you in the form of their loved ones. Ruin a life by ending it, someone will end yours just as maliciously. Katara isn’t naive, she knows it. Hama smiles at her and brings her calloused hand to Katara’s soft one to hold it and walk with her.

“Did you kill her?” Hama asked, not name-dropping the politician Katara killed by exploding her organ.

“Yes.” Katara replied. They walk deep into the cave, the only thing making Katara feel safe is the flames guiding her.

“Did you get caught?”

Technically, no. The Avatar didn’t catch her in the act or with blood on her dress. But she acknowledges the fact that Zaheer will know that his earthly attachment will be P'Li soon. If he can’t connect two plus two, then that’s on whoever didn’t teach him math correctly. Katara shakes her head and instantly, Hama removes her cold hands from Katara’s own to her shoulders, gently shaking her. Hama praises her for her good deeds and when they’re finally at the communion center, Hama breaks away from Katara and Katara goes to her other waterbending master, Ming Hua.

Ming Hua, a woman born with no arms, overcame stereotypes and became a magnificent waterbender, was talking to Ghazan. Once she sees her former student, she wastes no time in icing her waterbending arms and hugs Katara, her dagger-like eyes staring at Katara. “Hey, Katara!” She greets happily, Ghazan throwing a side-eye, “How was the mission?”

“It was good,” Katara excuses, “Could’ve been better.” Better in a way that she could’ve killed her target in a more creative way than an internal explosion or bumping into the Avatar. The Avatar was cute… Very cute.

It was the blushing that made Ming Hua and Ghazan tease Katara endlessly. “Aw, someone has a crush!” Ghazan and Ming Hua sing, “And it’s Katara!”

Katara pushes them away and crosses her arms, “NO I DO NOT!”

They laugh and poke at her and Katara doesn’t do much but allow them. The continuing teasing and laughter made Katara smile and almost laugh. This felt like what family should be.

The teasing and laughing came to a halt when Katara saw Zaheer. The rouge Airbender still believed in achieving such airbending greatness when in reality, he stained his spirit when he created the Red Lotus. Besides his goal of global anarchy and his girlfriend P’Li, he talked constantly about Guru Laghima, the one Airbender who did something so impossible that it’s taken as a myth: Flying.

Zaheer wants to fly but he has to let go of his Earthly Tether. As P’Li comes into frame, with her intimidating height and “third eye”, Katara knows that he only has to lose P’Li in order to fly like Laghima. “Hello, Executive Red Lotus members and Ghazan.”

They all greet each other formally. Zaheer smiles at them and tells them, “I have hired two new recruits of the Red Lotus,” Katara raises an eyebrow. They rarely welcome anyone. The Red Lotus’ goal of anarchy was to be completed as secretively as possible. What made them want to hire newbies? “Ladies, make yourselves known.”

Katara’s ocean eyes widened as she saw the two women come out of the darkness.

-

If Azula had a wish, she would wish to be free of her bonds. Her father leaving her because she had hysteria when really she was a burnt-out girl akin to a wasted candle. Too much burden, too much disapproval, and too many issues left Azula with a broken psyche.

It didn't help when a few nurses gossiped that he threw her in a mental institution simply because she’s a girl; Azula’s orange fire turned blue for the first time.

Azula was simply a little kid with too much jostled on to her as if she could carry it.

After that day, life was a blur. She counts the water droplets on the dirty floor, she gazes at the Fire Lilies which didn’t blossom in the winter, She screams fire and is forcibly put out by a muzzle, She gets punctured, her bending is reduced, Azula nearly went insane.

But one day. One day, She was taken out by her father. Azula is still in her straightjacket, her baggy but murderous eyes shined brightly, somehow fire still inside her and burning away at anything. He gives the nurses permission to untie Azula and while the nurses were apprehensive, they did it regardless. If it had been when she was fourteen, she would’ve struck them with lightning, but she’s twenty-two, and hitting first bore no fruit to her table.

So, she stays still, and only then does he smirk at her and turn around, a sign to follow him.

He sends her to a cave and while Azula is hesitant, he reminds her of his plan and Azula goes into the caves. It took her a few days to gain the trust of the man, but when she does, she’s hired along with a girl who wouldn’t lose her face to Koh, the face stealer.

Somehow, the fates heard her wish and would only release her if she behaved like a good girl.

And Azula is desperate to be free.

When Azula finds herself being introduced to other talented benders, Azula doesn’t get scared or shy away. No, she stands tall and greets them. “Aren’t you… A firebender?” One of them asked, precisely the man with tan skin and long black hair.

She nods, “What about it?”

“Where’s your topknot?” And Azula doesn’t cry at the mention of her honor. She remembers dishonoring herself with the help of maids at her ceremony and no longer wears a topknot after that day. No need to have honor if you lost it.

“Not there, obviously.” The woman next to her replies. Her bored eyes staring at the man, her buns prominent as her nail polish and wrist which had knives attached to a bracelet. Her outfit alone gives hints to Fire Nation nobility, but what’s a Fire Nation noble doing in a place like this?

The women snicker and point to the man but she quickly introduces herself, “I’m Azula, from the Fire Nation.”

“Ghazan, a lava bender.”

“I’m Ming Hua, as you can see,” She gestured to her arm tentacles, “I’m a Waterbender.”

“P’Li,” She pokes at her forehead, “I bend from my head. Some call it combustion-bending. Zaheer is an Airbender, but he just left.”

“I’m Katara, also a Waterbender.” And it’s Katara that makes Azula do a double-take. Two waterbenders? Azula doesn’t ask.

“I’m Mai and I throw knives.” She shrugs at her ability but Azula is enamored by it. If Mai is so special that she can come in with no bending, then she’s worthy! Azula takes a liking to her skill instantly.

They all disperse. All but Katara and Azula want to ask what’s so special about her but before she could, Katara requests, “Wanna spar?”

Azula and Mai look at each other before nodding and following Katara.

-

It’s 10 PM when Suki reunites with her former group. She just wished that it was under better circumstances. She meets with Aang and Toph at the bar, the atmosphere dark and it didn’t help when she saw Toph’s employees investigating. The metallic glint reflects onto Suki’s eyes as she hugs Aang and is punched in the arm by Toph.

“Hi,” She says, “Is there something wrong?”

Toph shakes her head, “Not really, Ms. Porcupine,” Toph quips and Suki ignores it, “Just a simple murder.”

Suki loves how Toph manages to make a crime scene look silly, “Do you guys need me for it?”

“No, Not at all!” Toph sarcastically voices, “We only called you here to bring cabbages! Of course, we need your help!”

Aang doesn’t say much except lead her to the crime scene. The blood on the wall is dry, a mannequin is in place of the corpse with startling details (such as a gigantic entrance wound and ketchup all over the body) to the doll as she sniffs, and  _ oh dear Tudi Gong, it stinks _ ! Suki waves her fan in front of her before asking, “Is there an exit wound?”

Aang shook his head.

Suki steps in front of the mannequin and thinks to herself. If there’s no exit wound, why is there blood splatter on the wall behind the corpse? She mimics the moves of an Earthbender but there would’ve concrete and earth all over the place, Firebenders would’ve left a burnt corpse while an Airbender would’ve left a corpse as it is.

“Waterbender.” Suki states with confidence.

“Well, we know that!” Aang whines, “But we don’t know  _ how  _ this happened! This is… unheard of.”

Aang had a point. Besides the splatter making sense, there isn’t much else. How did they endure something as massive as that but didn’t make as much as a whisper? “Aang, Bei Fong, did you see anyone?”

“Well, I can’t-” And Suki traveled enough with Toph to know that she was about to joke.

“You see with your feet, No excuse.” Suki reasons and is happy to see Toph make a  _ hmph  _ sound before shaking her head.

“I saw… the murderer.” At that, Suki and Toph both whip their heads to their ultimate bending friend. To Suki, that’s bizarre information that should’ve been shared before she ever went in here. To Toph, it’s probably the same but with anger.

“And you didn’t tell me?” Toph’s voice leers on exasperation and fury, but she only flicks his head, calling him stupid.

_ Why didn’t he tell Toph?  _ Suki questions herself. It’s a murderer, someone who played judge, jury, and executioner on someone’s life and Airbenders value all life, big or small. Through her Kyoshi Warrior getup, Suki made sure to glare at Aang.

“She was… She was really pretty.” Aang mumbles.

That earned a hard step and a chunk of earth went up and launched Aang into the sky, breaking the roof in the process. “He deserved that.” Toph dismisses and Suki doesn’t do anything about it besides mentally scold her for mistreating a witness.

“If it’s a Waterbender…” Suki doesn’t finish her sentence as she looks at Toph with a smug smirk.

Toph, realizing her motives, raises her head in alarm, “No! Absolutely not!”

Suki laughs despite being at a crime scene. “Why not? He can be helpful!”

“You have waterbending heritage, Suki!” Toph points out, “You can be helpful!”

“Except I didn’t grow up in the South pole,” Suki informs, “I grew up in Kyoshi Island and became a Kyoshi Warrior.”

“But-!”

“And the person who I will be calling is an experienced Water Tribe resident. So experienced that he has a boomerang to prove it~”

“You know he’ll mess it up!”

“Last time I remember, it was his testimony that made Aang innocent of his past-life murder.”

“Please, Suki!” Toph pleads but it falls on deaf ears. Despite her name-calling and feeling of superiority, The Group heavily depended on Suki for good decisions and morale when they did a few questionable things. This situation doesn’t exclude it.

“We are calling him, Toph,” Suki pats her friend’s shoulder and pulls out her phone, dialing her friend’s number.

It took a few rings, but he answers, “Sokka of the Water Tribe, how may I help you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While editing this, I was watching Markiplier Among Us video and was like... huh. What if I write Among Us x Avatar? Or any among us x any fandom? Shit looks delicious :p
> 
> ALSO
> 
> Toph: Why didn't you tell us you saw the killer?!
> 
> Aang, a forever simp: Because she's cute :(


	3. Omnipresent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the help of a peculiar animal, Zuko finds out a Royal secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEREs ZUKOOOO

Zuko kicks the dirt with his toes. A groan rises from his throat and he wishes that he isn’t on vacation like his father suggested. Lo & Li were by his side, silently walking to the Royalty beach house which annoyed Zuko.

As they arrive at the beach house, Zuko is no longer annoyed but… confused. While the elderly twins go inside, mindlessly chatting, Zuko stays outside the house as if it had grown sentient and formed a forcefield around itself, not allowing Zuko inside, asking him,  _ Why, my boy? What happened to the boy that smiled and kicked?  _ And Zuko wouldn’t have an answer.

He remembers being thrown up in the air by someone he assumed was his mom, playing a twisted game of _ring around the rosie_ and nearly burning his hands, getting evaluated and whenever he was becoming pudgy, he’d get stung and so much more. It’s surprising to Zuko that he remained as sane as he is right now.

“What are you waiting for, Prince Zuko?” Lo (or Li, Zuko couldn’t tell the difference) asked.

Zuko doesn’t reply and trudges forward. Inside the house was dusty as if the maid’s father simply ignored his order and played volleyball on the beach, having so much fun that they forgot they were maids and simply women who wanted to have a good time. Zuko placed his belongings next to the door and looked around.

Minus the worn-out furniture, the creaking sound on the floorboards, and the hilarious amount of dust bunnies were in the beach house, Zuko would think that this place would be the best place to get rid of his title as Fire Nation Prince and live freely without the worry and stress laying on his shoulders and back like it was burning rock.

The living room was spacious but it didn’t compare to the room upstairs which was bigger and could house a whole Earth Kingdom family home. Upstairs laid most of the things when he was younger. When he was more ignorant and joyous. He looks around with his good eye, the other one burnt and not as reliable. He walks slowly and goes to the fireplace, a familiar object laying on top, which was a board with his baby hand carved into it. Zuko gently places his hand on the smaller version of his own and hums.

“You know when you were younger, you absolutely loved to get your hands on anything,” Lo and Li informed. Zuko could hear a genuine smile form from the twins as they continue on, “Your mother thought it would be good so she could remember that.”

_ Mother.  _ Or as Zuko would like to call her: A stranger. A woman with 100 faces. She was a forbidden subject in the Royal Palace. Zuko could remember asking his father where his mother was and he would say with a bite,  _ We can get you a new one if it stops you talking so much. _

An unheard “ _ But what about the real one?”  _ passed through himself and his father, but father would refuse to acknowledge it. So many faces, but which of them were real?

Zuko looked up and saw the real one. But she didn’t have a face. No, it was ripped out and probably in the sea, nothing but a meal to plankton. All Zuko could see was himself and his father with calm faces and it made Zuko touch his scar. Can he remember a time where the scar wasn’t there? A symbol of his banishment, reminding Zuko that while he may be Ozai’s child by blood, he isn’t by bond. Besides their relationship, they treated each other as strangers and Zuko made sure of it.

After all, he didn’t want to lose another eye.

He feels a calloused hand behind his shoulder and Zuko stiffened before reassuring himself that his elderly trainers wouldn’t hurt him as Ozai did with Zuko. He turned toward one of them and they said, “We’re going to catch some sun!” And the way they revealed themselves to Zuko?

Maybe Zuko could stand losing his good eye after that sight.

-

It was two hours later when Zuko noticed a bird. It was sitting down on the shelf, its wings reminiscent of mocha and white, their belly a fiery orange, and the bird’s focus is on Zuko. It flew and for a moment, Zuko was going under the table. Fighting a feral bird doesn’t bode well especially since Zuko had enough scars as it is.

But the bird flies under the table and stares at Zuko, the black beady eyes making Zuko feel… Nervous. Anxious. The bird chirps and flies to the shelf, and then back at Zuko as if beckoning him to go there.

But the bird does it again when Zuko doesn't move from his position.

When Zuko still didn’t move, the bird flew back to the Prince and this time, tugged on his sleeve. Finally getting the message, Zuko hesitantly moves from underneath the table and towards the shelf while the bird laid on his shoulder, probably exhausted from dealing with someone as hard-headed as Zuko. He looked at the bird and felt embarrassed to ask, “What am I exactly supposed to do?”

The bird simply jumps and lands in front of a specific book,  _ The Girl in the Spider’s web.  _ From that, he pulled it and… and it didn’t budge. Zuko pulls it harder and to his surprise, slants and stays in that position.

Dust falls and Zuko stands back, unaware that the shelf would be hiding something. It’s a beach house, what would be so secretive that it needed a whole wall or possibly  _ a whole house?  _ Zuko looked at the bird and it was still there. “Okay,” Zuko says awkwardly, “I guess we’re both in this together.”

And without looking back, Zuko goes inside the wall, the bird snuggling against Zuko.

-

“You don’t like the name, Iroh?” Zuko asks with the bird now in his palm.

Besides the trouble of finding out that Zuko might have a sibling, he’s also tired of calling the bird,  _ the bird.  _ The bird chirps but doesn’t say much because well, it’s a bird and why talk to a bird about its name?

Zuko grumbles and puts the bird back on his shoulder as he opens up the book again. This one titled  _ Number 02-112-05A  _ detailing about a second child of Fire Lord Ozai. Given, it wasn’t a lot but it sent Zuko spiraling.

Zuko wasn’t an only child as Ozai would always say. Zuko has a sibling and Zuko isn’t sure how to feel. The bird, who he’ll name… Yen flies away but Zuko can’t bring himself to care. He entrenches himself back into the baby picture of his sibling, who looks to be a girl, with an abundance of pink. She was surrounded with black roses and orange lilies, the girl smiling as if she were unaware of the meaning of the flowers, all she cared about was having fun and being comfortable in the flowers. Her head was full of hair which was as black as onyx, her eyes the color of honey and had innocence embedded in them. She looked pure.

Zuko finds his throat tightening as he slams down the book and tucks it under his arm. He turns, leaving but finds Lo & Li.

Now, Zuko would never fear the elderly. Why would he? Sure they can be harmful but you can beat them in combat with easy maneuvering. But Lo & Li were different. They are Royal trainers for a reason and they were family friends. It didn’t help that despite perceiving themselves as harmless, they could never get rid of Zuko’s nagging instinct of “ _ be careful around them” _ . Like they could burn your major organs or take away your bending without much struggle.

But Lo (or Li) sighed. “So he has-” One says.

“Found out.” The other finishes.

“What.” Zuko whispers.

“We knew you had a sibling,” Lo and Li said together, “We just didn’t think you’d find out this early.”

Zuko ponders for a moment. Should he fire them? Send them out to the wolves? Summon lightning and give them a heart attack?

He immediately decides not to do anything of that and instead says, “Let’s get Komodo Chicken and we’ll talk about this.”

They gave Zuko basic information. She’s younger than him by two years, she has O type blood, and she was named after a Fire Lord. When asked which one, Lo and Li simply shrugged and ate to their heart’s content.

At the end of the dinner, one of them stayed behind while the other grabbed their plates and washed them. He quickly deciphers the one in front of him as Lo. Her hand goes to cover Zuko’s own and when she removes them, Zuko feels paper.

Putting his hand under the table, Zuko looks at it. It was a business card.

**Boomerang Inc.**

**Solving your mysteries by the time my boomerang comes back!**

**Number: 111-0304-1142**

Li comes to Zuko and asks, “Where did you hear about this?”

For a moment, Zuko doesn’t get it until her stare widens before going back to normal, “From no one.” Zuko stated impassively.

“Good.” Li rubs his shoulder and when the twins go to bed, Zuko goes out and gets a burner phone.

He called the number and it took a while but they eventually answered, “Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe! How may I help you?” The voice was deep and it made Zuko stop in his tracks only to breathe.

“Uh,” Sokka laughs nervously, “Anyone there?”

“Yes!” Zuko shouts too loudly, “I apologize for that-” He laughs now too, “I heard you solve mysteries? Or cold cases?”

“That I do!” Sokka responds with cockiness, “Is there something you want me to solve?”

Zuko nods, “Yes,” He looks around and sees no one near him besides the person who gave him the phone, “I would like for you to look into the disappearance of my sister.”

Sokka hums before informing him, “What time would you like to see me? I have 8 AM, 11:30 AM, and 4 PM available tomorrow.”

That would mean he’d have to leave  _ now _ to go to the other side of the continent. “4 PM sounds great.” Zuko said.

“Cool!” Sokka exclaims, “You better be there. I’m quite a busy man and the moment trouble arises, I go there at a moment’s notice.”

“I’ll arrive at that time,” Zuko reassures, “Don’t worry.”

“I’ll see you later then.” Sokka says and Zuko senses a smile but before he could say his goodbye, the line goes dead.

-

When Sokka got a call last night, he merely assumed that it was from a person who you know doesn't have royal nobility. It was just a person who was similar to him, no castle, no expensive clothing, not much money. That kind of person.

But as he stares at the Fire Nation Prince, Sokka badly miscalculated. A missing sibling?  _ ROYALTY MISSING?  _ This is as big as his life gets besides… besides the pirate incident and becoming an Avatar’s companion. Fire Nation Prince Zuko plays with his thumbs, looking around Sokka’s office and not at Sokka himself. His hair is long and most of it is put into the infamous top knot Fire Nation citizens talk about.

_ Honor Honor Honor. So much honor. He remembers kicking a guy out of his bed because he wouldn’t stop talking about it and oh man, it made Sokka red. _

He’s drenched in gold and red as if trying to make it known that he has nobility, that the man can be robbed and it wouldn’t even hurt him.

_ Scam Scam Scam. Sokka remembers when he, Toph, and Aang used her (Toph) Earthbending abilities to get coins and coins! It was amazing and he even had a messenger hawk! But it all ended badly when a Combustion bender ended their fun. _

“Firstly, we gotta change up your whole outfit once we’re done discussing this case,” Sokka points out and Zuko nods furiously and Sokka found that oddly endearing, “Tell me what you know.” Digging in his desk, Sokka gets out a pen and sticky note, looking at Zuko.

“Well, uh,” Zuko’s raspy voice surprises Sokka for no reason. What time was it when Zuko called? How come Sokka didn’t even panic upon hearing his voice? It was raspy and high-pitched and Sokka just knows Suki would love it, “I only found out about her yesterday. I don’t know her name but she’s a… she-”

“Where did you find out?” Sokka asked.

“At my father’s beach house. A bird helped me.”

Of course, spirits. Sokka had a history with them and it’s mostly one-sided. Sokka hates spirits but the spirits  _ loved  _ Sokka. When he asked Team Avatar about their experiences in the swamp, Sokka was the only person the swamp talked to! Sokka was taken into the Spirit world by Hei Bai and not… The Avatar, Sokka  _ kissed his moon spirit girlfriend _ , and upon all: the spirits still bother him to this day. They’re cuter, Sokka thinks. “Okay,” Sokka writes it down, “Did you bring anything?”

Zuko calls one of his guards and they bring a suitcase.

Oh.

That’s quite a lot. “Well,” Sokka ignores it, “Does your mother know anything about her daughter?”

At the mention of the mother, Sokka can feel Zuko go rigid like his mom was a tough subject. “I don’t know her.”

Well, that shocked Sokka to say the least. “But! But! She has O type blood and she’s younger than me by two years!”

That made Sokka smile. At least that’s a start. “So when you were born and how old are you now?”

“83 AG and twenty-four.”

So the sibling would be born at 85 AG and she’d be around twenty-one or twenty-two. Sokka writes it down and taps the desk with his pen. This is a tricky case. No name, No description, No disappearance date. “Please,” At the sound of his voice, Sokka turns to him with an aloof expression, “I want to find her and bring her… bring her home! You must understand!”

_ You must understand!  _ Sokka does understand. Sokka knows the Prince’s pain, he wants his own sister home too. His feet begin to tap against the ground and Sokka looks away from Zuko and at the water flowing down the wall, a symbol of his heritage and of… of his little sister. His father long quit about finding his sister, sobbing once he realized that finding Katara was as equivalent to finding a needle in the haystack and made sure to focus on his growing tribe.

Hakoda may have quit but Sokka didn’t quit. He never did. He started Boomerang Inc in her honor. Distantly, he hears what he thinks is her voice.

_ Take it. You might find me. _

“Where do you want me to stay?” Sokka asks and upon seeing Zuko’s elated smile, Sokka would do anything in order for the smile to stay.

-

“What do you mean you’re not coming?!” Toph’s voice booms in his ear and Sokka feels like he’s one step closer to losing his hearing.

“I’m not coming,” Sokka stays calm, but the slight squeak in Toph’s voice makes it hard as he giggles, “The Fire Nation's Prince summoned me to look into something.”

At that, Toph nearly stopped fighting, “Seriously? The same people you hate?”

“I grew out of it,” Sokka scolds, “Every nation has its good people as every nation has its bad people too. You should know that.”

“Sokka, we need you,” Toph begrudgingly admits, “I wouldn’t be calling you if I didn’t need you.”

“Toph, you got this,” Sokka reassures his friend softly, “If there’s anyone who can solve crimes, it’d be you! I don’t know about Aang, but don’t underestimate him! The man’s emotionally intelligent and he can kick ass! After all, the Greatest Earthbender in the World taught him.”

Toph laughs but Sokka can hear some of her anxiety seep through. Maybe it’s simply him knowing his friends so well that he embodied the role of a parent for them or it’s just him, but Sokka knows his friends better than their own parents. “But I-”

Sokka squishes down the insecurity, “Is that the Melon Lord telling me that she can’t solve this case?!” He asks incredulously, “With her seismic sense and metalbending?! No way!”

Again Toph laughs, “You really think I can solve this?”

Sokka rolls his eyes with sincerity, “Of course, Who else scammed the spirits out of the Fire Nation?!”

“Shut up!”

Most people in the Team Avatar friend circle would find it odd that Toph is oddly vulnerable. She makes herself seem invincible and isn’t as easily hurt but Sokka knows that mostly a facade. Toph isn’t easily hurt but she isn’t invincible. She’s far from it and Sokka (maybe Suki too) is the only person who sees this different version of Toph. The woman who claims doesn’t want an umbrella over her head but needs it.

“I won’t shut up but know that you’re very capable of solving this, Toph,” He says genuinely, “Aang and I wouldn’t have made you Chief Police if you couldn’t solve things like this.”

On the other line, Sokka could hear a hum and finally, Toph says, “Thank you, Sokka. I mean it.”

She hangs up and Sokka grabs his bag, going over to the Fire Nation Prince who smiled at him as if he was the only one that mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you might notice that I added a few tags and yeah, you'll see the tags for it in two more chapters!
> 
> Other than that, did I mention how much I love writing this fic specifically? The concept of cat and mouse with atla PLUS my failed fic of Zukka is gonna go so hard here and compared to that one, I think this fic is more composed and organized. It feels amazing!!! I'm not sure if I'm doing right by these iconic characters but I hope I am through your pov :)
> 
> Also, did you see my easter egg? :D Those are fun, I might put more.
> 
> I'll see you next time <3
> 
> (maybe even sooner)


	4. (In)justice / TNOS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone kills Toph's teacher.
> 
> Aang and Suki are getting clues.
> 
> Where her loyalty lies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: S*xual Ass*ualt, Grooming
> 
> If you read the endnotes, please be cautious as I will be talking about a serious topic ^^.

Aang, Toph, and Suki stand outside of a school. They were near Toph’s hometown since there was an emergency. “So, Sokka isn’t coming?” Aang asked, a hint of disappointment attached to his voice.

“Nope.” Toph pops the  _ p. _

“Because he’s stuck with the Fire Lord?”

“The Prince to be exact.”

Aang sighs and glanced around, metallic cops looking over clues and whatnot. Aang looks at Suki, her face caked with the iconic Kyoshi Warrior makeup and her green dress adorned with dirt and some of the white oils from the Kyoshi Warrior makeup as well. “It looks like the Waterbender struck again.” Suki points out and bends down.

Aang follows her and watches her, Toph moving to where some of her co-workers were. “Aang, I have a question.” Suki said.

“Hmm?”

Suki touches the arm of the corpse without disrespecting the body. She squeezed it and to Aang’s surprise, it bends. It looked like the body was frozen, even after… “How long was the body here?” Suki asked.

“Almost a week.” Aang answers.

Suki hums a tune but Aang doesn’t recognize it, “Rigor Mortis should still be here most likely. If the body is left out in the sun, it should take from a few hours to a week. Yet--” Suki taps at the face of the body and her eyes widened, “-- Yet it’s just now beginning to set.”

“So, you’re telling me…”

Suki shakes her head, almost not wanting to believe it. “This could be the work of your waterbender or someone else with medical--”

“AANG! SUKI!” Toph’s voice rings throughout the house and the duo looks at their friend before her hand waves, silently telling them to come over.

They did and when Toph sighs, Aang knows that the group might be at their wit’s end. But what shocks Aang is that Toph pulls up a bag with a… Pai Sho tile. But it was different. The Pai Sho tile was red and the background of the tile seemed to be dipped in black. “This isn’t the White Lotus.” Suki confirms.

“The Red Lotus?” Toph asks.

“We’ll talk about it later,” Suki says with the voice of a mother which left no room for either Aang or Toph to counter-argue, “Aang, let’s go visit a hospital.”

* * *

Aang is getting tired of the hospital smell. They’re waiting outside for a doctor or practically anyone to come out and collect them but for now, it’s Aang and Suki. Despite them being in the same friend group, they barely ever talked. But somehow, they were comfortable enough to let themselves sink in silence, Suki playing with her gold-plated fans while Aang summons small gusts of wind with his finger.

“So, what’s going on with you and Sokka?” Aang finds himself asking.

Apart from her matted face, Aang can see her brows come together before she says, “We’re still looking for a third-party. I’m fine with Sokka and only him but it’d be nice to have someone else too.”

“That’s pretty cool.” Aang says.

“Really?” Suki’s voice sounded like she was in disbelief that Aang wouldn’t agree with her about needing another lover.

“It is,” Aang answers, wishing Momo was here so he can play with his fuzzy friend, “The Monks always taught me that love is beyond the human body. It’s universal and they were accepting of any difference, no matter what. If you want two lovers, then get them,” Aang stops his airbending to focus on his friend, “After all, love is love.”

Suki smiles at Aang and rubs his bald head. If Aang had hair, he’d figure he would like this kind of affection, “Thank you, Aang.”

“Anything for a friend.”

“Suki and Avatar Aang?” Someone calls.

-

“What is it that you need?” The Waterbender asks. She’s short and plump, her teal eyes staring into her clipboard which was blue and white, Tui & La stickers distinctly placed on the corner, worn-out. Aang totally doesn’t think about Yue and her sacrifice which is why the elements are still balanced.

“We want to see how you preserve bodies.” Aang requests like it was a normal Tuesday.

“Why is that?” She asks, her tone not holding ill intent but having the edge of curiosity and wanting to call the cops.

“Well, Suki and I have a hunch that this assassin might have a medical background because of the way they froze the body.”

“Which is from the inside.”

Aang nods.

The doctor, who is named Ranor, shows them. She places a cadaver on the metallic stretcher and with a swift movement, grabs a thin layer of water (which covers her palm) and places it on the corpse and she stays in that position for a while and it isn’t until Suki bumps her elbow with his that he notices the corpse’s breath comes out with moisture. “Woah,” Aang whispers in awe, “That’s so cool.”

Doctor Ranor ignores his childish admiration in favor of Suki, the actual adult, “Would you like to ask any questions?”

Suki is the first to speak, “How did you do that?”

“I basically used my water to find his and froze him using his liquids.” She answers smoothly.

“Do you think it can be lethal?” Aang asks.

“Oh, definitely,” Doctor Ranor answers, “If you do the process wrong, you can freeze their organs or in the absolute worst-case scenario, kill them.”

“Where do people learn this?” Aang has a vivid picture but he hopes that he’s wrong.

“Oh, in the Northern Tribe,” She replies and covers the cadaver with the white blanket, “Anything else? My break ends soon.”

Suki shakes her head, “No other questions. Thank you Doctor Ranor.” Suki and Aang bow before leaving the room, the tension different from when they were outside, talking about relationship issues.

* * *

Toph Bei Fong is extraordinary. She’s a blind Earthbender, defies all odds of using Earthbending in a different way that’s strikingly similar to the Air Nomads,  _ Invented _ Metalbending, and saved the balance of the world from the Red Lotus, an organization she thought that died.

But yet as she’s in her hometown in Gaoling, in his school, all her achievements disappeared like a worn-out couch that vanished from the curb.

Suki and Aang weren’t here. Sokka wasn’t here. It was just her and as much as she loves being alone, being away, and taking in peace, she wanted her friends here. She steadily walks into the office, freezing water making her vision sharper, and the heartbeats of everyone beating into her ears like continuous drums.

For once, she wished all heartbeats could cease for a moment as she takes in the scene before her.

Master Yu is impaled by ice daggers, his middle finger touching the floor and his head laid backward, blood seeping from his wounds. His legs were placed in an uncomfortable position, his hair folding in on itself as it lays on the floor, mixing with blood and soot.

Her heartbeat is louder than any cop. Her vision is sharper and as she cruelly smiles, Toph knows that they’re watching her with concern. Toph Bei Fong, inventor of metalbending and Chief Police, breaking down at a crime scene for the first time.

_ There’s always a first for everything,  _ Master Yu had told her as he placed his hands on her blouse, slowly removing it,  _ Whether bad or good, it’s always memorable. _

Toph wishes she can physically tell those memories to  _ shoo! Go away!  _ But as she stands and stares at his corpse, it’s impossible.

All the thoughts she pushed away, the memories, the kidnapping, the  _ everything that dealt with Master Yu and her family _ come rushing in like the waves she nearly drowned in when she was twelve. Master Yu’s hands, his excuse of poor breathing exercises, when she finally was confident enough to tell her parents about what he did, the rejection, the punishment, running away,  _ EVERYTHING THAT DEALT WITH MASTER YU AND HER FAMILY _ . It poured down on her mind relentlessly and before she knew it, her legs took command.

She left without much of a word.

She doesn’t go to her parent’s house despite them reconciling, she doesn’t go to Earth Rumble, doesn’t go to the market, and tries to persuade the local ladies to give her free food.

No, she’s at the edge of the cliff and she curls within herself, the thoughts becoming too much to handle. Her body trembles even though it isn’t winter, her cheeks stained with tracks of her tears, her hair becoming looser and looser but she doesn’t care.

The one person she forgot about, the person that catapulted her into running away and starting fresh, the person that she originally intended to bring to justice is  _ dead _ . Master Yu is dead and she’s smiling to the point where her cheeks hurt.

He was a bad man, Toph thinks. He deserved it. People like Master Yu don't deserve to breathe, don't deserve the money and fame that he had, and don't deserve anything  _ good _ .

_ “Incoming call from Twinkle Toes! Answer or Decline?” _

“Decline.” She manages to choke out.

_ “Declined--”  _ Her phone says but it continues,  _ “Incoming call from Twinkle Toes! Answer or Decline?” _

“Decline.”

_ “Declined-- Incoming call from Suki. Answer or Decline?” _

Toph groans. So much for peace and silence. “Answer.”

“Toph?!” She can hear her worried friend from the other line, “It says that you’re at Gaoling’s Cliff! What are you doing there?!”

“Hmm.” Toph finds herself saying.

There’s silence and for a moment, Toph thinks they hung up and started running as if she was going to do something drastic. But Suki answers and when she does, Toph is relieved that she isn’t irritated by her answer, “One of your co-workers texted us earlier… I think his name is Kanto? Not sure, but he said he saw you running off and told us!”

Of course, it’s fucking Kanto that snitches her out. Badgermoles tongue. “Just stay where you are! Aang and I are on our way!”

And they came minutes later, Suki and Aang landing on the ground with a soft thud. “Isn’t that Master Yu?” Aang asks.

“And what about him?” Toph asks with a bite.

Aang, evermore pacifist, doesn’t react to her bite, and Toph wishes he had. It’d make her feel less terrible. “He died. Doesn’t that… make you feel sad?”

_ Sad _ . An emotion that Toph is unsure about when she saw his impaled body through her seismic sense. “Sad?” Toph mocks with an empty grin, “I have never been happier!”

Suki’s heart rate picks up and says, “Turn around and say that.” An order that was so resolute and has a hint of finality that left no room for Toph to rebuttal. It was like when she held up the world so no one (especially herself and Suki) got crushed. So much stress, so much dependence, and anxiety as she stands and turns to her friend and stammers out, “I have… never been more… more…” It doesn’t come out. Aang stares at her and so does Suki but her stare seemed more poignant as she dug through Toph’s mind and encountered all the mental scars that pushed her into the person she is right now.

Slowly, Suki holds her hand and Aang cups her cheek. “Are you okay, Toph?” Aang asked gently and it was that. That question.

_ Are you okay, Toph? _

It was saddening to hear that her brain and heart yelled out  _ No!  _ In unison as if the moons and planets all lined up in a row which made them work in synchronization.  _ Are you okay, Toph?  _ The line replays in her head like a broken recorder and quickly, Toph shakes her head and the tears come running down again but it was hotter, filled with anguish, rage, and so many other emotions that Toph can’t pinpoint.

Master Yu is dead and she can’t give herself justice. She can’t ask why he did what he did, She can’t take him to the council and bring her family to prove them wrong, laughing in their faces as she yells,  _ You were wrong! You were wrong! I was right!  _ Like a child who won a bet.

Master Yu is dead and because of his actions, she despised sex, she despised weakness, she despised intimacy, despised anything that Master Yu praised, and more.

Master Yu is dead and for once, she doesn’t feel okay.

Toph falls on the ground and her friends let her as she cries endlessly, Aang rubbing her back while Suki whispers sweet nothings in her ear.

* * *

Azula hides in the shadows, her golden eyes twinkling. It was nighttime and while she didn’t feel completely free, she lets the air run in her locks, her lips twitching minutely. She slips on her mask, distinct from the Fire Nation folklore, The  _ Kemurikage _ .

And while she wasn’t kidnapping or torturing any children, she’ll be killing adults who opposed her dad. She jumps down and lands on a crate before hopping down on the floor. The streets were peaceful and quiet, the only things she could hear were her footsteps and breathing but nothing else.

His home is drenched in gold and he’s living lavishly, according to Zaheer. He’s taking away food from the poor and killing them.

He’s planning to kill me by poisoning me, according to Ozai. He’s trying to take away my life because he’s power-hungry.

Whatever the case may be, they agreed that he deserves to die. They didn’t tell her the manner of his death or anything remotely significant so she’ll either slit his throat or a heart attack with her lightning. She walks patiently, why be in a rush? After all, she isn’t the one that’s dying.

She does end up at his home and she chuckles.

The door is unlocked and Azula thinks,  _ He’s too comfortable.  _ What madman will leave their door unlocked? Whether he’s too comfortable or simply forgot, it’s the first mistake the man makes for his death to be quicker. Or slower. Azula doesn’t know.

She walks in and the strong smell of copper hits her nose. It reminded her of Mai’s wrist when she got hit by it and smelled copper as well as a fragrance that smells expensive. The room is nothing but lavish. Gold plated walls, silk cushions, tables that were made of wood and polished too. It was almost like he had a King Leshing touch.

She sees a portrait of her father in the back and it almost stops Azula in her tracks. But she quickly shakes her head. Maybe the man was in love with her father and just idolized him too much to the point where he sees her father as royalty. She keeps walking, opening doors and leaving them open because there’s no point in closing them.

She finds him at the end of the corridor.

She sits down on the nearest seat and with a deep breath, she summons a ball of blue flame.

He wakes up.

Azula starts first, “Can you stop freaking out?” She requests, “I’d like to make the job easier. Hate it when there are unneeded complications.”

He stutters out something that Azula doesn’t understand.

So, Azula brings out her knife and shows it to him, “Talk properly or don’t talk at all.”

“A-A-Are you gonna k-kill me?” He asks pathetically. His graying hair in a top knot, the armor that resembled the ones Azula sees in her stories, and to top it off, his brown eyes which were infamous for whatever reason (Azula didn’t see anything special in them).

“Yes,” Azula answers honestly, “Yes I am. Give me a-” She gets hit by a fire blast but Azula easily dodges. Unneeded complications. “You can’t win against me,” She tells him as he runs away from her, “I'm faster, stronger, and smarter than you. You only have experience as a soldier, Admiral Zhao.”

  
  


Zhao hides somewhere and that’s mistake number two. While it’s wise, you ultimately trap yourself because when someone does find you, you usually can’t find a way out. It would’ve been wiser if he had run away from his home.

But Azula pays no mind. She finds him anyway in a cabinet and his pathetic face is hilarious. If Azula were to take off her mask, he would probably freak out because of her insane smile. A woman killing him, how peculiar. She bends down, twirling the knife in her finger before putting it next to her. She puts her fists out in front of Zhao. “Pick a hand.” Azula offers.

Zhao trembles and Azula fights the urge to laugh in his face. “Come on,” She urges, “Pick.”

His shaking hand picks the left.

“Sorry, you used all your luck,” Azula informs and she backs up and summons lightning at her fingertips, the feeling is driving her crazy. She had never felt so energized in her life. He trips on his feet and for someone who was an Admiral, he sure was being stupid. With comfortable ease, she directs her lightning to Admiral Zhao.

He flinches and Azula watches as he chokes out, “Who… What are you?”

“Your killer.” She simply says and repeats the same process.

Three times was how much it took for Admiral Zhao to go limp.  _ Maybe three was overkill.  _ Azula thought but either way, the outcome was better than most. No one interrupted her, no one saw her and if they did, they’d meet their end. Simple as that.

Azula leaves through the back window and runs back, but she makes a pit stop.

There, she meets Ozai. He’s in a red tee, black pants, and sandals. Why did Zhao have him designed as a King, Azula doesn’t know. “Did you kill him?” He asks.

Azula nods.

“Okay, they’ll give you another person in due time. I requested it. Don’t fail me. For the New Ozai Society.”

Azula bows, “For the New Ozai Society.” and watches her dad leave.  _ Were all dads like this? _ She asks herself but ultimately doesn’t answer it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like most of you are going to ask, "Everything, why did you include something like this?" That something being Toph's backstory and how it went.
> 
> Well, honestly it's many reasons but the top two are simple. Representation and Research. Before I had this type of backstory in my mind for our girl Toph, I was already thinking about how to make her vulnerable, how to make her crack and etc. This type of thing is very traumatic (something I myself went through) and I see myself in Toph because I like having others think I'm tough or invincible when that kind of thing isn't true because we're not all invincible.
> 
> Master Yu, while a good teacher in canon, resorted to kidnapping Toph due to money, so his love for her is purely financial, sad as that is.
> 
> The research part is also pretty simple. I was a victim of that type of abuse and it's mindblowing to see that relatives are the top people who will most likely touch you inappropriately and that children will endure it because they don't want to upset the "balance" and upon reading it, my mind went to Toph and visualizing her eating food dying a little inside because her abuser is right there chatting with her parents as if nothing had happened in the training room.
> 
> If you don't like or get triggered by this kind of thing, then you can go (no malice intended). It's uncomfortable, unpleasant, and a tough topic to talk about (especially in families).
> 
> If you were/are a victim of CSA, know that I'm here for you and you can always reach out to me :)
> 
> (in fact, everyone can reach out to me)


	5. Master Yu/ Compromised

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How his death happened.
> 
> How one of the most elite warriors were compromised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BA-DA-BOOM! I do be slacking

_Hama stopped the fight as it was beginning to get aggressive._

_Azula pants while Katara lays on her back, both of the benders across from each other. It went serious as Azula generated lightning and Katara nearly dodged and Katara would’ve bloodbended if it wasn’t for Hama summoning an ice wall, effectively stopping both of them and wetting them in the process._

_Katara bends the water out of her clothes and stands, going to lend a hand to Azula and the firebender takes it, much to her surprise. Hama gave Katara and Azula newspapers and Azula looked at Katara, face blank. “Look inside.” Katara advises._

_One of them is an Earth Kingdom teacher who had long raven hair (the ponytail had a headpiece which indicated he was a teacher) with a long mustache, wrinkles under his eyes and around his lips. She turns the picture and the name is Master Yu, A teacher from Gaoling. Still resides there. Kill him._

  
  


_She leaves without much of a word, mumbling a greeting to a low-ranking Red Lotus member, who had a paper in his hand._

_-_

_Master Yu. Earthbending teacher at Gaoling. Kill him._

_Katara is at Gaoling and the first thing that hits her is that well, she isn’t an Earthbender. She grumbled under her breath and nonetheless entered Master Yu’s school. She can be an inspector, it always worked. While walking, Katara puts her hair in a bun effortlessly and readjusts her hair loopies. (why did she call it hair loopies?)_

_She sees boys running around, the strong scent of soot and Earth hitting her nose like a truck or massive drill. One of them walks up and asks, “Are you here to kick someone?”_

_Katara raises a brow and sinks to his level, “Now why would I do that?” She asks._

_“Oh, I dunno.” They simply said and ran away from Katara. Boys. She thinks to herself and keeps on walking. She hears noises reminiscent of her training shouts and chunks of Earth being lifted but Katara paid no mind. She holds herself up high and isn’t scared to admit that she can beat someone up in a fight._

_But before she has any chance, she bumps into someone and only the woman falls. Katara offers a hand, a false smile placed on her lips, “I am so sorry!” She says, “It’s my fault that I didn’t see you there!” With a giggle, she quickly examines the woman. Any sign of anything and Katara can exploit._

_And she sees something. The woman wore long robes, her dress olive green, and her hair tied up nicer than Katara’s one-minute bun. Her neck and fingers were filled with jewelry and it didn’t help that her makeup appeared expensive. She chuckles and pats off the soot from her dress and robe. “No, my love!” She said quite happily, “It was mine! Forgive me, my eyesight is not the best.”_

_Your eyesight isn’t the best? At that, Katara smiles and it was all for the wrong reasons. “I’m Katara. What’s your name?”_

_“Poppy,” She introduces and bows, “Poppy Bei Fong.”_

_Now Katara isn’t dumb. She may not know the Bei Fong’s personally, but she knows them historically. They’re the wealthiest family in the Earth Kingdom and were elbows deep in Political scandals from their predecessors. Even now, they were right in the middle of Katara’s attempt of killing Master Yu, something that’ll come to the news in due time._

_“Nice to meet you, Poppy Bei Fong,” Katara bows back and lets go of Poppy’s hand, “How about I treat you to some food for accidentally running into you?”_

_-_

_Turns out, Poppy is a big eater but cared for her appearance more than her appetite. Whenever she asked, Katara made sure to slide a few skins of Roast Duck or Possum-Chicken. Katara only ate Sea Prune Stew but it didn’t taste like the ones Hama cooked and as much as she’s growing to dislike Hama, she can’t deny that the woman knows how to cook. “So,” Katara tries to butter up Poppy, “Do you know Master Yu?”_

_Poppy nods eagerly as if wanting to tell a silly story between herself and Katara’s target, “Yes, Yes! He was my daughter’s Earthbending teacher! He’s very nice and he often cared for her like she was his own! I’d like to think that Master Yu made her the greatest Earthbender.”_

_So nothing useful. At least not so far. So, Katara tries again, “I have a secret, but you can’t tell anyone.” Secrets are always an easy way to gain someone’s trust. Something so intimate, shared between two people, maybe more if you allowed it. Sometimes they’d have to be loud because it can be harmless but other times, you have to force them to be silent because such a secret is devastating._

_“Oh, you can always tell me.” Poppy assures._

_“I’m an inspector at Kyoshi’s Teaching Industry,” Katara lies, “I’ve been sent over because it’s been reported that Master Yu is committing fraud and stealing the money he got from past charities.”_

_Poppy looked as if Katara said her dog-cow wasn’t the best-looking dog-cow in all of Gaoling, “Master Yu would never! He’s a good person and he’s very charitable! I mean, who opens a teaching center to teach little children?”_

_Katara glowers but doesn’t oppose Poppy immediately. Poppy and Master Yu sound incredibly close and Katara is on thin ice. One mishap and the easiest opportunity could slip right through her fingers. So, Katara pretends to value the information. “I see. I knew the reports would’ve most likely been false!” She sends Poppy an icy smile but the woman didn’t seem affected, “I just have to make sure the reports are false. Don’t want to get fired, y’know.”_

_At that, Poppy laughed but it was quiet and shy. “Of course, Of course. I wouldn’t want to stop anyone from missing a meal,” Her smile is sincere and she puts a hand over Katara’s, “Tell me if it’s fake okay?”_

_Katara nods. Poppy removes her hand. "Wait," Katara says, "Where is Master Yu's office?"_

_"First door to the right. You can't miss it."_

_Katara smiles at her and Poppy simply tells her, “Thank you for this lovely meal,” She wipes her lips with a napkin and puts it on the plate, her hands going to fix the mess they made, “Have a nice day, Young lady.”_

_“You too!” Katara said as Poppy put down money and left._

_Katara leaves five minutes later._

_-_

_Time is precious. Katara learns one day. Hama made sure Katara was punctual, made sure she followed a strict regime from sleep time to food diets._

_But as she walks in the night, someone is following her and Katara doesn’t like it. Time is precious, every second count and if a stalker were to derail her from her schedule, Katara wouldn’t hesitate to bloodbend them out the way or just intimidate them into leaving her alone._

_Katara halts and puts her hand on her pouch. “Whoever you are, come out.” She calls._

_To the left, Katara sees a boy. He looked to be in his teenage years, his clothes having holes and his face looks at Katara’s like he was going to be Master Yu and she was going to kill him (which isn’t far off). His hazel eyes stare into her stormy ones and he asks meekly, “Are you going to arrest Master Yu?”_

_Katara hesitates, “I might. Why?”_

_“I have something to admit about Master Yu.” He comes out of the darkness and Katara sees how messy he is. His hair is disheveled like it was a messenger hawk’s nest, his cheeks caked with blood and soot-like he was fighting for his life but stopped upon seeing the Waterbender. But most of all, his arms were littered with scars and Katara is unsure whether it was from self-inflicted or from fighting in the slums._

_“Well, on with it.” Katara barely managed to hide her irritation but it’s there._

_“I-” He stammers over one word already and Katara rubs her temple, trying not to shout at the boy, “He- He uh… He inappropriately… He inappropriately touched me.”_

_At that, Katara’s irritation dissipated. “What?”_

_Hearing her, the boy quickly backtracked, “I’m-I’m sorry! You probably don’t-”_

_Katara cuts him off, “No, I do. But why haven’t you… told the cops? Or your family?”_

_“I did,” Katara can hear him sniffling, “But they didn’t believe me. They told me that I should’ve fought. I-I was a boy and boys fight. But I… But I froze and didn’t know what to do!”_

_Should she tell him the truth? Should Katara tell him that she’s not going to arrest Master Yu but kill him? Rip him to shreds and make sure that he’d pay? “You know what, kid?” Katara looks at him, “I’ll make sure he gets arrested. After all, he’s going somewhere because of his crimes.”_

_Katara isn’t a do-gooder. No, simply because she’s sympathizing for a boy who didn’t get the justice he deserves doesn’t mean she’s a good person. She is far from it and the only reason she’s going to make sure Master Yu is going to suffer is because of his crimes. She isn’t a do-gooder but she isn’t emotionless. She’s allowed to go to such extremes and not state why._

_“Really?” He asks, his eyes dazzling with tears and stars, “Oh thank you so much! You’re an angel!”_

_Katara resists the urge to snap his neck as he called her an angel. “Yeah, whatever kid,” She says casually, “Just don’t say a thing, got it?”_

_The boy covers his eyes and his mouth._

_Good._

_-_

_Fighting Master Yu felt exhilarating._

_Killing him? It was nice. She didn’t even need to bloodbend, all she did was summon ice spikes and he got impaled the moment he stepped in the water puddle._

_Katara smiles and goes to his side, his body panicking but Katara doesn’t care. She moves his hair out the way and whispers, “I’d do anything to get rid of anyone who touches a pure child. My name is Katara and I’m someone you should fear--” She grabs a nearby dagger, “-- Because I’m born from all of the failures of this world and I could give a flying fin if you wag me money to turn the other way. You and your dirty money are worthless to me.”_

_Master Yu begged and begged but it fell on silent ears as Katara pushed down his body slowly. “When they asked you to stop, did you?” She asks and when he went silent, Katara knew, “I often forget there are men like you. Men who prey upon children as if they were eye candy and forget that you’re supposed to be their mentor, not someone they fear every night. I’m glad that I got reminded because very rarely, I torture--” She puts the knife against his top knot, his begging slowing down, “-- But for you my friend, I’ll enjoy torturing you until I see the light in your eyes leave. I’ll enjoy your body going into rigor mortis. I’ll enjoy seeing a man as you die.”_

_She presses the knife against his hair and cuts it, “Because when men like you can’t keep their hands to themselves, someone has to put you in check. I am that someone.”_

_And with a final push, Katara sees the light in his eyes fade, she sees his hands tremble and then stop, his ragged breath ceases and he lays limp. Katara feels her lips widening and for the first time in a long time, she laughs and stabs at him with the dagger losing herself for quite a while._

_It was until the boy saw her covered in Master Yu’s blood that she composed herself._

_He simply covered his eyes and his lips._

_“Tell the world what he did to you,” Katara voices, “And if they don’t believe you, tell them to fuck off.”_

_She leaves the boy there but not before putting something on the wall for a special someone to see._

_Katara later returns to Hama, a grim look on her face as Katara hadn’t wiped away Master Yu’s blood from her clothes._

* * *

Toph went to sleep and Suki made sure Aang tended to her. Whatever happened, Toph would tell them in due time but one of her sisters texted her and it was an emergency. “I’ll see you later, okay?” She hugs Aang and puts her gloved hand on Toph’s hair, rubbing softly to not wake up.

She leaves the forest and views the location of the Kyoshi Warrior.

* * *

It was in a dingy house and already Suki has suspicions. “Shoya?” Suki asks for her, “Where are you? You said someone was hurt.”

Suki glances at the house and notices how worn-out it was. The wood looked had sharp holes, strings belonging to fly-spiders decorating the house, the rotten smell wrapping around her nose which made it twitch. “Shoya,” Nervousness tightening her throat as she fights to keep it leveled. There was something wrong, she can sense it, “Shoy--”

Someone landed on her and she felt pain in her right shoulder. Upon hearing a pair of feet land, Suki looks toward that direction and is surprised to see Shoya with a piece of her fan in her hand, her Kyoshi warrior makeup melting in the moonlight which made her look terrifying.

“Shoya, what’s all of this?” Suki asks before Shoya lunges at her and Suki manages to jump and kick her away, her shoulder sending sharp spikes to her jaw, momentarily gasping at the pain of it. “Shoya! ANSWER ME!” But all she gets is a quick punch which is dodged by Suki’s fan-shield and then shoves her to the side.

Realizing that Shoya won’t give up, Suki doesn’t hesitate to give her all, even if it hurts her more than her sister has gone rogue. They exchange punches, kicks, and even attempted Chi Blocking but Suki came out on top because if she didn’t, she would have to trade in her fan and sword.

Shoya lays on the floor unconscious and something glints in Suki’s eyes. Suki rubs her shoulder before bending down and attempting to get it before--

Shoya grabs her and the immense pain shoots up her spine that Suki found difficult to ignore. But Shoya grabs her attention with these words, “The Red Lotus shall free us all!” Before cracking something in her mouth and she falls limp her mouth frothing.

Suki covers her mouth, trembling, refusing to scream because she’s a Kyoshi Warrior before all things. She heaves momentarily before hearing a _clunk!_ And to her disappointment, she sees an emblem peeking out from her sleeve.

A Red Lotus tile.

After calling the nearest Kyoshi Warriors and leaving the area, it dawns on her like a boulder being abruptly thrown on her shoulders.

A Kyoshi Warrior was a part of the Red Lotus.

The Kyoshi Warriors are doomed.

-

Suki manages to find Toph and Aang, who was sitting outside of the Earthbending school. She was breathless, her shoulder now a nuisance as she stops and coughs. Too much was on her mind and it was still late. “We need to… We need to talk.” She manages to say.

“What is it about?” Toph asks.

“The Red Lotus,” Suki says and that gets both of their attention. To say Aang had a history with the Red Lotus is an understatement. They tried to kill Aang when they were traveling and were close to succeeding if it weren’t for Pakku, “The Red Lotus managed to get into the Kyoshi Warriors.”

Toph gasps and Suki could see Aang’s skin draining and while Suki wished she could protect both her friends, now she had a job. “So, what you’re telling us is that--” Aang doesn’t finish.

“The Red Lotus might be behind it.” Suki does finish it.

“And that girl you were crazy about might be in it.” Toph points out.

“Really?” Aang asks as if that couldn’t be a possibility, “That isn’t surprising. Especially seeing…”

Suki raises a brow and looks at Toph. As expected, she explains, “He saw blood on the wall. It said, _Marry me_.”

“That’s kind of… Wow.” Suki pats Aang's shoulder.

But something forms in Aang’s mind as he says, “Well it’s a good thing we’re going to the Northern Tribe.”

“We?” Toph asks incredulously.

“Well, seeing that Suki can’t go to the Pole, I have to take someone with me.” Aang sing-songs and take it to Aang who can make a murder scene sound like a musical setting.

“Nuh-uh!” Toph protests, “No way! I can’t go there! There’s no Earth!”

“Uh, yeah there is,” Aang says sassily, “You didn’t even go there!”

“And?!”

“I want you to come!”

“Nope! I’m Chief Police!”

“And?!”

Suki watched them bicker and it’s amusing to see. Aang would never be so stubborn, so sassy. But with Toph, he seemed to let it go and stand his ground whenever Toph didn’t agree on something. Whether it was due to his training with her or the elements taking effect, Aang resembled the Earth and just like the earth, he will not move until she relents.

And Toph does when Aang promised to get her some plushies.

Sokka would be proud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Early Christmas!


	6. Master Pakku, Kala, and someone else

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where the Gaang gets to meet someone new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhh new years eve

If you would’ve told Sokka that he’d have to dress as a Fire Nation servant, he would laugh in your face.

But Sokka is dressed as a Fire Nation servant and he hears someone laughing. “Stop laughing, Uncle.” The Fire Nation Prince murmurs, bumping his shoulder with the elderly man, who keeps laughing quietly as to spare Sokka’s feelings (but it fails).

“I have a feeling why I’m forced to dress like this, but I want to hear from the Prince and the Dragon of the West.” Sokka puts the long sleeves upward, the heat from Republic City rubbing off of him. He should really go back home once he gets the chance.

“It makes life easier for you and my nephew of course,” His Uncle responds and grabs the sleeve to bring it down, “You have to look the part, Detective,” Sokka stares into his eyes and finds that it’s hard to look into, “And act it as well.”

Zuko ends up getting Sokka away from Iroh, playfully slapping his Uncle who chuckles and walks away calmly as if he didn’t become an accomplice to Zuko’s crime. Zuko hurries Sokka away and into a nearby restroom, telling him to change and change  _ absolutely everything,  _ all the while, Sokka laughs and tells him not to worry about it. He  _ is  _ a detective. Not Zuko.

_ Welcome to the Fire Nation.  _ Zuko tells Sokka as he comes out and while he wished that he would have invited the Detective under better circumstances, this will have to do.

“Tui’s Fin! this is itchy.” Sokka hisses as he scratches his armpit and Zuko raises a brow, unimpressed.

-

When Aang and Toph arrive in the North Pole, it’s chilly… Only for Toph. While she shivers, Aang was always taught to regulate his body temperature and it’s because of his training from Gyatso that he isn’t freezing like his close friend. She shivers pathetically and while Aang insists that  _ hey, maybe you should take the poor excuse of canned sardines off,  _ she rebuttals and says that she’s on a job, not on a vacation.

Ever since the murder in Gaoling, Toph seemed eager to apprehend the assassin. Aang wanted to know why because while she was somewhat lax in the first half of this investigation, it seemed like she wanted to meet her and just.. Fight her.

“Hey, Toph-”

“Avatar Aang!” A familiar voice greets, “Miss Bei Fong! What brings you here?” Master Pakku, his waterbending teacher, looks at them with a smile and for once, he doesn’t grimace when he sees Toph. It makes Aang happy, just a little.

Aang bows, Toph and Pakku follow shortly after. “I wish we could’ve met under better circumstances,” Aang starts, “But I’m here to see about the way women learn healing since there seems to be a woman assassin that is  _ probably  _ from the Northern Water Tribe.”

“And to meet the best healer you got.” Toph adds and before Aang can guage Pakku’s reaction, he nods but…

“You guys need to settle down, first.” And they do. Toph is forced to change her clothes and she’s in the famous blue clothes and pelts while Aang is still the same. Toph shoves down her clothes in the hamper and sits down in their temporary room together.

“So, where’s the healing huts?” She asks.

“Do you want to go?” He asks back.

“Yeah, staying here while waiting for Mister  _ Girls-Can’t-Do-Anything  _ is exhausting enough!”

Aang laughs and grabs Toph’s gloved hand (which she holds to Aang’s excitement) and leaves to go to the healing huts. It was icy and he isn’t surprised to see little girls and no boys in the class, an elderly woman is in the center and has water in her hands which turns a bright white and she lays it on a girl’s cut and when she removes it, it was like the cut was never there. Not even a scar.

As if sensing their presence, Sifu looks upward and smiles at Aang and Toph before telling her class, “Now go! It’s recess!” And just like that, they go, only a few waving and stopping to say hi to the Avatar and the first Metalbender.

“Hello, Avatar Aang,” She gets up steadily, “And hello, Ms. Bei Fong.”

Toph bows and Aang does too. “Hello Sifu…”

“Sifu Kala.”

“Sifu Kala!” Aang greets cheerfully, “We have a few questions to ask if it’s okay with you?”

While it may seem out of left field, Aang has a question to ask and it’s quite… ballsy. “Do you know any women who have a grudge against Master Pakku?” The question doesn’t make sense in all honesty. Why a grudge? The kills seem to be randomized and the only thing making sense is that their politicians. Pakku himself isn’t a politician, but if it’s a woman who is possibly from the Northern Pole and has a bone to pick with Pakku, he has to check.

Kala rubs her chin, thinking. Toph puts her head on her palm and looks towards Aang, clearly bored.  _ Is this what we came here for?  _ She seemed to ask silently in his head.

_ Probably. Probably not.  _ He answers. His mind drifts to the Water Tribe woman who he asked to marry and now that he looks back at it… It’s embarrassing. How could he ask someone he barely knows to marry them?! His brows furrowed together, fighting the urge to scowl and give Kala the wrong impression.

“Ah!” Kala springs back to life, “If you can wait here, I can give you a photo. Though, it’s old.”

“We have all the time in the world.” Toph says calmly and she walks off, leaving Toph and Aang alone.

He could ask her now or--

“Aang, I’ve been thinking,” She looks at him and then speaks, “What if Pakku’s life is really in danger?” Aang resists the urge to chuckle at his friend for asking that kind of question since Toph always said she hated Pakku for being so small-minded and if she could, she would fight and win, but upon hearing her tone, the chuckle dies in his throat and he thinks.

Pakku is a Master Waterbender and the Waterbender who wants to kill him has to touch him in order to freeze him and when he fought Pakku during his training sessions, it took a lot of skill to even get close to Pakku and even more to land a hit.

“Pakku is a gifted Waterbender,” Aang states, “He won’t go down without a fight and he definitely wouldn’t want to die due to a female Waterbender.” He adds the last bit with a laugh and Toph seems to loosen up a bit, comforted by the fact that a sexist loser like Pakku would live to see another day.

“I’m back and with the picture!” Kala abruptly shouts and she quickly walks towards the pair, a picture album in her nimble hands. She plops herself across from Toph and Aang and opens the album, her finger bookmarking the image she wanted them to see.

Though her fingers shake, she points her shaking finger at the top left, two young women smile big at the camera, their fingers doing bunny ears. The shorter woman had her hair half up and half down, her brown eyes clear and joyous as another hand wrapped around the much taller woman who looked similar to her but her hair was in a bun, similar to Kala’s. 

“The tall woman is you, yes?” Aang liked to confirm.

“Mhmm,” She confirms, “And that woman is my ex-girlfriend. Lately, I can’t remember many things, so I can’t give you a name. But she was from the South Pole and I think… I think she left due to Master Pakku and his incorrect ways.”

“Like not giving women the right to bend combatively?” Toph asks, twirling a loose strand of her hair.

Kala nods and chuckles, “My, My, aren’t you outspoken?” She says with no malice.

Toph shrugs, “Women want to learn other ways to learn how to bend their element. To not let them do that is stupid and shouldn’t be allowed.”

Kala momentarily has a fond look on her face and Aang stares at it. Whether it reminded her of her ex-girlfriend or someone else, Aang doesn’t want to ask, in fear of getting disappointed. Kala speaks, “She used to say stuff like that. Called Pakku a fool and so many other things til the point where she… she left the North Pole. Something else happened… But… But…”

She stammers and Aang is quick to put hands on her shoulders and smiles at her. She calms down the moment she looks into Aang’s eyes and her shoulders sag. “I’m sorry, Avatar Aang and Miss Bei Fong. That’s all I could do.”

“It’s no problem, really,” Toph replies and stretches, “You gave us all we need.”

“Really?!” She asks, a grin forming on her lips, “Thank you both!”

“No, No, we should be thanking you,” Aang says with a chuckle, “After all, you gave us the information.”

She holds both their hands and rests her forehead on their knuckles. “May you both be blessed with children.”

Toph cringes.

-

Katara was taking a much-needed nap when Hama interrupted it.

“Why did you leave the base?” Hama questioned.

Katara didn’t want to answer. She wanted to continue sleeping or even just lay in her bed and listen to music that will draw her to sleep. She didn’t want to be in the base where she’d be woken up by either or all the Red Lotus members. “I wanted some sleep.”

Hama didn’t like that answer but Katara didn’t bring herself to care. Her eyes were already beginning to droop when Hama drops a folded newspaper and Katara fights the urge to grab her pillow and scream into it.  **_All she wants right now is sleep!_ **

Katara unfolds the paper and sees a picture. The picture is a Water Tribe Man. His hair is loose and it was the color of the silver fox-dog, his jacket made of pelts of animals, and judging from his expression, he doesn’t enjoy life. She flips the picture and it reads:  _ Master Pakku, A teacher at the Northern Tribe. Could be a spy. Extract information and then kill _ .

“Shouldn’t this be for… I dunno, Ghazan or Ming Hua?” She asks her grandmother.

“Ming Hua and Ghazan will draw attention. You won’t.” Hama responds and there goes the unsaid thing.  _ You’re the Red Lady and they’re the executives.  _ She didn’t feel like doing her job at all and if she even said that, Hama would duel with her and Katara doesn’t want to duel with her either.  _ Go with the lesser evil _ . Her mind says and with reluctance, she stands.

“Northern Tribe,” Katara clarifies, “How am I going to get there?”

Hama gives her a ticket. “By boat.”

“Alrighty, then,” Katara leaves and goes to pack her bag. She’s going to be there for a while, she assumes.

She’s assigned to kill a White Lotus member and that isn’t an easy task since they're the enemy organization and she heard plenty about them. They want to keep the balance like the Red Lotus but with less bloodshed and more… softer. Katara finds that the White Lotus are naive for thinking that the world deserves such treatment.

Katara’s back sent a dulling pain and she winces. Dueling with Ming Hua is easy but with Hama? It gets personal quick and Katara resists the urge to go on her knees and cry about the dulling pain.

_ Hama uses the water whip and manages to hit a part of her back which was bare due to her shirt being ripped. “Do it.” _

_ Katara sobs uncontrollably. She doesn’t want to do it. No. “I don’t want to! Please Gran-Gran!” _

_ Hama is a stoic soldier and she doesn’t get fooled so easily. Nor does she fall for Katara’s weak attempts at persuasion. _

_ “It’s okay.” The voice sends Katara heaving, fearing clogging her lungs. _

Katara weeps, covering her mouth as hot tears stream downward. She can’t afford to think about it, She can’t! She can’t! She can’t! She can’t!

But she does and as the event replays in her mind, she curls up and goes from covering her mouth to her ears.

_ It’s okay. _

_ It’s okay. _

But as day went to night, the voice seemed to lie to her as she lays on the floorboards, exhausted and drained.

It wasn’t okay.


	7. Nothing like a first conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katara arrives at the Northern Pole and converses with a particular someone.
> 
> Suki delves further into the Kyoshi Warriors.
> 
> Sokka and Zuko plan to get Suki into the Fire Nation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It do be getting a little spicy in Aang's POV [chews on red chili pepper]
> 
> ALSO HAPPY (LATE) NEW YEAR!!

Katara arrives at the North Pole with her bag in her arm. She gets off the boat and the first thing that greets her is the strong smell of sea salt. Despite being a Tribe native, she never got used to the smell because she wasn’t exposed to it for so long to adapt to it.  _ “Welcome to the Northern Pole! Fun Fact about the Pole: Avatar Kuruk was going to wed his fiance before an evil spirit took her away!” _

Well, that’s a Fun Fact alright.

Katara looks at the pamphlet Hama gave her:  _ Yue’s and La’s Iceberg Hotel! The only hotel with the best quality bedding and food! _

She walks to a nearby store and is about to ask for directions when she hears children yell in delight, “The Avatar is here! The Avatar and his lady friend!”

Katara’s eyes went round.  _ The Avatar and his lady friend?  _ They’re both here? They possibly couldn’t see through Katara’s plan! Forgetting about the directions, she goes to the children and bends to their height, feigning excitement, “Did you say the Avatar!?”

The boy nods with a bright beam, “Yeah! He’s here! I wonder what his favorite food is!”

“It’s Duck,” She lies, “Do you have any idea where my friend might be staying? I was trying to follow him but the seaweed soup was so good that I lost him!”

The boy giggled at her foolishness but nonetheless believed her lie. Children are gullible. “I think he’s staying at the Snowy Echo hotel. I could be wrong though. Good luck finding him Miss!”

“Why thank you, young sir.” She softly pinches his cheek and leaves, but not before hearing an elderly woman yell,  _ Tonraq! What did I say about talking to strangers?! _

-

Suki is tired of interrogating.

Talking to each Kyoshi Warrior with hidden venom and accusations galore made Suki deflate. She looks at her friend, the most loyal to the Kyoshi Warriors. She is sitting on the metallic chair, her friend next to her as she voices, “Only a few stuck out,” She throws a pencil into the jar and it successfully makes it in, “What do you think?”

She hums, putting her finger to her chin, deep in thought. “Their aura seems pink! Only ones that don’t are the ones you detained.”

“Thank you, Ty Lee,” She gives her sister a warm smile, “Knew I could count on you.”

“Of course,” Ty Lee smiles back, “Anything for a fellow sister in arms.”

She gets out of the room and sees the five women she suspected. “Based on your beliefs alone, what do you think about the Earth King and his successor, the Earth Princess?”

With hands placed behind her back, she lets Ty Lee do the rest.

It was disturbingly simple. She asks them questions like  _ How long did each of you know Shoya? Were you aware of the group called The Red Lotus? Was there a time in your life when you realized that people in power were not your friend? Do you believe in total freedom? No laws, no rules, just free to do whatever without being judged? Have any of you played Pai Sho? What’s your primary goal when you play Pai Sho? _

It went from five to two. She looks at Kyala and Soyi. “Tell me, which one of you is Red Lotus members?” She asks with a dark glare. Suki doesn’t care if she has to do anything unethical to obtain the truth as Avatar Kyoshi formed this group to  _ protect and defend  _ other women and/or weaker people. Suki is determined to keep the Kyoshi Warriors as the Avatar promised. She doesn’t want it tainted more than it already has.

She’ll be the darkest human being if it means the Kyoshi Warriors don’t stoop as low as their brothers, the Dai Li.

“It-It isn’t me!” Kyala says with tears in her eyes, “I dedicated my life to protect other women! I wouldn’t just defect to such a bizarre organization!”

“It isn’t me either.” Soyi says with nonchalance.

“Ty Lee.” Suki orders.

“Understood!” Ty Lee goes to Chi Block them but only Kyala resists. Suki stares at Soyi and goes to her.

“Can I check your pockets?” She asks Soyi and it was there that hell broke out.

Soyi kicks Suki and she’s quick to throw Suki to the wall, nearly knocking her unconscious, but pure anger alone kept Suki conscious (and maybe the adrenaline, but that’s for another time). 

Ty Lee fights Kyala and Soyi and somehow manages to hold her own by dodging and evading their punches and kicks. Suki gets up, grabs her fan, and rejoins by throwing Soyi using her shield and goes to unsheath her sword. Blood slides down on her makeup but Suki couldn’t bring herself to care as she runs toward Soy, a battle cry emitting from her mouth as swords clash.

-

When it ended… It ended.

Suki made sure to take out the tooth that had a hidden poison and while Kyala and Soy lay there, tied up and unconscious, Suki trembles and sits on the ground, looking at the shadow of Kyoshi. Would she be proud of what happened? Would she be disappointed in Suki for going so low that she decided to nearly kill two women? Kyoshi was always peaceful and only resorted to pure violence when needed.

Would Kyoshi be okay with this sort of violence?

Suki opens her gloved hand which she had in a fist and looks at the pair of teeth with a pill inside. She sighs and puts her head back before Ty Lee crawls over to her and checks her head. “You might have a concussion.”

“Oh well,” Suki whispers bitterly, “I didn’t kick the bucket, did I?”

Ty Lee musters a smile, “No. You didn’t.”

“You’re free to go, Ty Lee.” Suki dismisses.

“But-”

“Don’t leave Kiyi hanging. Don’t you have to bring her back to Noriko?” Suki asks.

“Yes, but Noriko would understand!”

“When it comes to children in possible peril, they’d care about their child. No one else. Take Kiyi home. I got the rest of this.”

With reluctance, Ty Lee nods and departs, leaving Suki with Soyi, Kyala, and one question:

How doomed were the Kyoshi Warriors?

* * *

When Toph went to go to the spa, Maybe Aang should’ve gone with her instead of staring at the picture Kala gave him because when he was standing, he felt a frozen ice dagger at his neck with an arm struggling to reach to his shoulder. “I would give some pun but honestly, I forgot them.” Aang quips.

“Hello, Avatar Aang.” the Water Tribe woman greets with venom.

“Hi, Miss Water Lady.”

“Do me a favor and let us have a chat,” She removes the dagger from his neck but instead at his back, “It’s been a while since our mutual proposal.”

-

“Did you like my letter to you?” Katara asks Aang, something etching in her chest like a blossom.

“Marry me one or right now?”

“First one.”

“Oh,” Aang sits on the chair and plays with his airbending before answering, “I hate that you’ve taken a life.”

“Don’t care,” Katara rolls her eyes as she crosses her legs, the dagger in her hand but standing on top of the table, “Did. You. Like. It?”

“No,” Aang answers as Katara frowns, twirling her dagger using her fingers, “Killing someone for me isn’t the way to propose to me. As a monk, I hate that and I will do everything in my power to stop you.”

Katara raises a brow and yawns, amused but tired. “Don’t care about that either. I come with a message… from the Red Lotus.” Truth be told, there was no message besides the unsaid  _ ‘If you see him, kill him’  _ thing but Katara isn’t the one for following rules.

Aang’s eyes widened. “You-”

Katara smiles and points the edge of the dagger to her finger, careful for it not to be too deep to spill a droplet of blood, “I won’t kill you, sweetie,” She says with gross sweetness, “Matter of fact, I won’t kill you unless you get in my way, but even then, I won’t kill you.” She stands and puts the dagger in her pocket before walking over to Aang, the small wind he summoned leaving.

She pulls his chair back and sits on his lap, her hands going to cup his neck but not to choke him, no. He’s stiff but with a gentle nudge, he looks down at her and she stares back at him.

“Don’t get in my way.” She gave him a soft kiss on the lips and was shocked to feel his lips move with hers. Katara was tempted to continue the kiss, to let it deepen and be carried to the bed, and do something nefarious. Something that’d make Hama scream and slap her scarred back.

_ It’s okay.  _ The voice comes in and Katara pulls away, as Aang looks away from her. “See you later, Avatar.”

“I will stop you.” Aang declares.

Katara sends him a bittersweet smile, “Sure you will.” With that, she leaves out of the room and goes to the elevator.

Unfortunately, she bumps into someone. “Aren’t you the Chief Police of Republic City?” She asks, very well knowing the answer.

“Sure am.” She answers as she comes out of the elevator and into the hallway.

* * *

Suki receives a call from Sokka and answers it immediately. “Hi, baby.” She greets with a smile, trying not to wince as a medic dab rubbing alcohol on her wound.

“Suki!” Sokka sounds excited which made her smile grow into a grin. Hand it to Sokka to make her feel better, “How are you doing, first of all!”

“Oh, I’m fine,” She lies through her teeth as she stares at her two former Kyoshi Warrior sisters get thrown into the back of the police van, “How is the investigation with him going?”

“It’s going great, actually! I think you’d actually like him,” He sounded smug which made Suki question what he meant. She doesn’t say anything. He continues regardless, “I miss you so much, it’s crazy.”

“I miss you too, Sokka,” She says as she signals for the medic to stop rubbing alcohol on her, “Say, what was your investigation for?”

“To find someone.” Sokka replies and Suki refuses to ask for details. It’s dangerous to ask for that kind of information.

“Can I… When can I see you again?” Her voice trembles a little bit and Suki prays to the spirits that he didn’t pick up on it because then it’ll be questioning and while Suki can hold her own with that sort of thing, she can’t while she’s talking with Sokka.

They know each other too well.

“Well, you can right now,” Suki gives out a confusing noise, “Just put one of the Kyoshi Warriors in charge!”

_ What if all of them are corrupt?  _ Suki shakes her head, “No can do.”

Sokka hums and distantly, she can hear another voice.  _ What if I get her and the Kyoshi Warriors here?  _ A deep voice asks.

“You can actually do that?” Sokka asks.

_ Well, yeah.  _ The voice says it like it was something even a child would know.  _ I could’ve done it with you. My summon is basically a subpoena. Now, who do I have to bring? _

“Well, lemme ask the Captain if she’s okay with that,” His voice shifts to Suki and she sits upright, “Are you willing to bring the Kyoshi Warriors to the Fire Nation for…”

_ Protecting the Fire Nation Prince. _

“Protecting the Fire Nation Prince.” Sokka repeats and it took all of Suki not to laugh at her boyfriend for doing what he always does: Be a goofball. Spirits, how did she manage to get such a good man?

“I’m willing.” Suki answers and once she hangs up, she orders the medic to spread the message:  _ Every Kyoshi Warrior  _ **_MUST_ ** _ pack to go to the Fire Nation and protect the Prince at his orders. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MMM yes.


	8. A tipped Pai Sho tile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first part of a disaster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *looks at you in the eye* did you miss me?

Toph Beifong is a person who rarely lays in bed, much less  _ wants  _ to stay there for a whole entire day. But here she is laying in bed as Aang is getting ready to meet Pakku and tell him about the threat to his life.

Aang rushes to her side and softly pokes her. Her hair was loose and uncombed, she still had the green shirt and pants on but nothing else besides that. It was when she turns and sees her dead eyes that Aang begins to get concerned. “Are you okay?” He asks her.

Her eyebrows furrow and for a moment, they stayed silent, the only thing you can hear are kids laughing and running down the halls. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence but Aang wonders if he made her mad because he let the killer go free.

_ “You let her go!? Just like that?!” _

_ “Well, it’s complicated--” _

_ “How is a kiss complicated?!” _

She shakes her head and turns away from Aang, clutching the pillow tighter. “Was it something I did?”

Another moment of silence.

She shakes her head.

“Do you want to tell me what’s wrong, Toph?” He sits on the corner of her bed, his hand going to her back and rubbing her reassuringly.

Another moment of silence but added with hesitation. “I’ll tell you when you come back.” She says with a soft tone that made Aang frown.

But nonetheless, he tries to go for a smile. If his friend is sad, he shouldn’t be sad either! He’s the pillar of Team Avatar, a shoulder for them when they need it the most. He nods and ruffles her hair before standing. “I’ll keep you to that.” He promises and distantly, he can see her cheek puff up with a tinge of rose.

He gives her goodbye and goes to the roof where Appa and Momo are placed. While they stayed in the pet area, Appa did like flying with Momo and they weren’t doing anything harmful. Aang puts his glider on the ground as both Appa and Momo fly toward him. Momo crashes while Appa lands carefully and nudges his head against Aang’s chest, a hug which made Aang smile.

“Let’s go meet Master Pakku.”

-

“I’m not leaving the Tribe.” Pakku finalizes, crossing his arms with a glare that could slice Aang’s chest.

Despite being the Avatar and bending the four elements, he  _ cannot  _ embody their elements into his personality as often as he does. And as much as he wished that Toph was here so she could maybe convince Pakku to leave and come into Republic City protection, she isn’t here and he’s acting in her presence.

So he grumbles and tries, “But Master Pakku-”

He shakes his head, his silver hair becomes a bit disheveled, “I’m not leaving my home, Avatar,” Pakku snaps, “No matter what threat on my life there is, I was born here and I will die here… Except I won’t be dying.”

Aang’s left eye twitches. Here he was, offering his master some protection, something that isn’t rare because even though the killer is attractive, she’s a killer, a murderer, and someone who Aang doesn’t like (lying… maybe). She’s a ghost in an empty house, she’s the quiet classmate who does something immoral but you don’t believe it until you see it, she’s the epitome of the words  _ blackmail  _ and a  _ dirty little secret. She is the butterfly-ant who flutters her wings that then starts the tornado.  _

And yet, she’s tantalizing to Aang. She’s someone who is probably far from saving, but Aang will dip his hand into the abyss to save her.

“Avatar.” He can hear.

But that isn’t the point.

“Are you staying?” Aang asks instead.

“That much is quite obvious.”

Aang sighs, defeated. “Then, I’ll stay as well.”

“You won’t intervene in my daily routine.”

“I…” It was his master who he’s talking about. The same one who made healing exclusively for women, “I won’t intervene.”

It was those three words that doomed Master Pakku.

-

The first thing Suki shows to Sokka and Fire Prince Zuko is the emblem of the Red Lotus. “The Red Lotus infiltrated the Kyoshi Warriors and so I took the few that I trust with me.”

“What about Ty Lee?” Sokka asks.

Suki was about to answer when Zuko cuts her off, “I remember Ty Lee,” he looks at his hand as if it held all the answers in the world (and maybe it did), “She used to come here and play with me. Though I was always annoyed by her and her need to feel different.”

Suki raises her eyebrow at that, almost not believing it. The Kyoshi Warriors were the opposite of different but also too similar. Maybe Ty Lee just had a change of heart or revelation. “Ty Lee is staying at her… adoptive mother’s home. She just wants to take care of her little sister for a bit after the brawl we had with the Red Lotus members.”

Zuko hums and nods, “Understandable. That is traumatic.”

Well, he isn’t wrong. “So, what are you guys doing exactly?”

Sokka looks at Zuko. Zuko nods, giving Sokka the green-light, “We’re trying to find Zuko’s sister. From what we know, she’s younger than him, she’s type O, and is named after a Fire Lord.”

“Well, do you know which Fire Lord?”

They both shake their heads. “My father is rather secretive. If I were to ask about that, he would decline and ask me something and force me to admit it.”

“Can you get me the family tree?” And with that, Suki dwindled out the names of the male Fire Lords and only came up with three names that could turn into names for girls; Azulon, Eloso, and Syzu. “Which ones do you think the Firelord will name a girl?”

She sloppily writes the names down and puts them in front of the Fire Prince to read. It was silent and Suki glances at Sokka for some kind of reassurance which he gave in the weirdest way possible.  _ He likes us!  _ Is what he signs to Suki and Suki doesn’t really know what he means.

“I think Azulon and Syzu are the most possible ones.” Zuko concludes and hands the paper back to Suki.

“Well then,” Suki stands and stretches her arms and legs, “Azulon and Syzu are what we should be looking for.” Sokka and Zuko mimic her movements and without a word, they head outside the room and into the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SHort chapter because I don't want to condense the soon-to-be action and itty bits of foreshadowing (mayhaps)! Besides that!
> 
> QOTD: What kind of bender are you?
> 
> AOTD: I would be an Earthbender


	9. Mysterious Ties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katara isn't the one to delay her target's life.
> 
> But this is the one exception.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?
> 
> A DOUBLE UPDATE???? UNHEARD OF!
> 
> well, here we are with an update :)
> 
> (We are also 35% through the story, hooray!)

Nothing could better describe Katara’s frustration than the angry child in the restaurant who wants a grilled  _ sea prune _ . Just one, not, you know… ten or more.

Every single attempt (or rather put, stalking efforts) she tries to get near Pakku, the Avatar is there and he inconveniences her  _ constantly _ ! She bites down on her lip and taps her foot on the floor, watching Pakku and the Avatar across the street, sitting on a chair and sipping a cup of tea; Pakku gliding through papers and the Avatar feeding the flying lemur with peanuts.

She rubs her temple and folds her legs, looking away momentarily. She looks at her nails instead and is tempted to file them.

Well, before someone  _ rudely  _ sat in front of her. “Excuse me, what are you--” Her mouth is agape when she glances at said rude someone in her chair. Ming-Hua, whose hair is in a high ponytail, and her face caked in stellar makeup that only P’Li could do, “--What are you doing here?”

“Don’t disrespect your elders like that, Not even a hello!” Ming-Hua sasses with a grin as her water arms poke a nearby waiter. She directs her gaze to the waiter and with a beautiful smile, says, “Hi, can I get a Seaweed noodle bowl for me and… What do you want, my sweet seal?”

Katara momentarily glares, “Are you going to pay?”

“Of course!” Ming-Hua looks offended, “What do you take me for?” She smirks at Katara and her smirk is somewhat mocking, “A thief?”

“No,” Katara flatly answers, “Never.”

“Anyways,” Ming-Hua puts her focus back on the waiter, “She’d have Sea Prune Stew. We’d both have water as drinks.”

The waiter repeats Ming-Hua’s order and once receiving confirmation, he leaves, leaving Ming-Hua and Katara alone. “I know this isn’t your first mission,” Her water arm freezes at the tip and it glides around his table, “And yet, I know this would be over with a snap of Ghazan’s fingers. Yet, you’re taking your time.”

Katara ignores her.

Ming-Hua continues, “Is it because of the guy?” She asks as the waiter brings the water to them and she brings it to her mouth to drink it, “Is this another Jet?”

Katara takes her gaze from her target(s) and looks at Ming-Hua, her jaw becoming clenched, “Don’t. Mention. That name.”

Ming-Hua smiles at Katara. It felt as if she was the teacher and Katara, the student, when they were, more or less, are equal to each other in terms of positions and power-level. “Is it still a sore spot?” She coos, “Who knew the Red Lady had an Achilles heel?”

“What do you want, Ming-Hua?”

“To work with you, of course,” Ming-Hua looks toward the Avatar and sees them stand, “When do you want to attack them?”

“Not now, obviously,” Katara scowls, “Maybe sometime later, at night.”

“So, the Red Lady is constant, I see,” Ming-Hua rubs her nose and digs her water arm into the cup, “Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be your right-leg woman.”

When the Avatar and Pakku leave, so do Ming-Hua and Katara.

Without paying for anything.

\---

  
  


Nothing could be a better opportunity than having a weak, no-armed, feeble woman act as bait than Ming-Hua acting as bait to Aang.

She falls in front of him as he guards the perimeter and oh, poor Avatar Aang.  _ Poor Avatar Aang.  _ As she babbles and rambles on, Katara moves her hands and water is surrounding her arms and runs. She freezes the tips of her water-tentacles and quickly slices through the window.

Katara lands on the wood and remembers Hama’s words.

_ There is water everywhere. Even in places, you might not think. _

She walks calmly, almost feeling too restful for something she’s about to do. It smells of sea salt and fruits, the office where Pakku resides is filled with ice and flowing water from a numerous amount of Pakku (which makes Katara feel little) and--

Katara stops three feet away from Pakku’s door to meet with low White Lotus members. “Get out of my way.” Her voice muffled by her mask but no less gets the message across. Not.

“Our duty is to protect the highest White Lotus member, so Ravaa help us--” They were abruptly cut off when Katara raises her hands in mock surrender, the water around her snaking its way to her pouch. But of course, her little hand movement leads to the guards’ halt in their speech and instead looks at Katara in unfiltered fear.

“So, they just hire anyone, huh?” Katara questions with a sneer. If they wanted to utter a response, Katara doesn’t give them time to reply as she slams her hands down and they fall to the ground, butts up, and head on the ground.

“Who..” One mutters in astonishment.

“The Red Lady.” Katara answers quickly. She makes her hands into fists and without much fighting, they close their eyes, and Katara strides to the door. The stainless door is cyan and it has gold outlining the door and plaque. The plaque reads:

**Master Pakku**

**Master Waterbender & Lawmaker**

  
  


Devoid of any fear, she enters the room.

And isn’t shocked to see Pakku writing papers for whatever law he intends to rule with. He’s so concentrated but Katara doesn’t feel bad about ruining his concentration with her falsely clearing her throat. He looks up, stares into her stormy eyes, stares at the water-tentacles, and then back at her eyes and deduces, “You’re the one that wants to kill me.”

“I can make it quick for you.” Katara voices.

“No, thank you.” And he quickly jumps over Katara’s head and manages to grab water from another statue of his (Katara should destroy them). He forms them into discs and sends them Katara’s way, who easily dodges the discs with no problem.

Katara extends her water-tentacle and grabs him but he simply uses his foot to dismantle her water-tentacle.

That isn’t too much of a worry. Katara thinks to herself as she slides away from Pakku’s water-tentacle, the water splashing and soaking into the wooden floor.

“I won’t get killed by a woman!” He shouts to Katara.

“That isn’t for you to decide!” She shouts as she storms towards him and with her right water-tentacle that is now icy at the tip, she swipes at his face and neck, desperate to see some kind of process, but gets splashed backward by a water blast. She’s sitting up and for a moment, sees Master Pakku smiling arrogantly but upon their second eye-to-eye contact, he mutters a name.  _ “Kya?” _

Katara doesn’t know why, but she forgets that her target is her target. Now, she sees someone with valuable information. Hama is her grandmother, no doubt about it, but she doesn’t know who her parents are. All she knows is that her parents are Southern Tribe and dead. Hama doesn’t even give her names because remembering is  _ too _ painful.

  
  


Yet, she doesn’t hesitate to make her life and back pain. She grunts and gives him a scowl, “Who the hell is Kya?”

“Ky-” Pakku cuts himself off and instead says something else, “Is your name… Katara?”

Something flashed in her eyes.

_ “Come to your grandpapa, Katara! You can do it!” _

Katara should’ve done it sooner.

By the time she moves her hands, he’s in agony and on his knees, his arms twisted in an unnatural way, his head tilted downward, refusing to look at Katara. “I’ll ask you a question before I kill you,” She says, “Because anyone who knows my name, already has a death date.  _ How do you know my name _ ?”

Pakku hesitates and that hesitation agitates Katara, so she closes her hands and she can feel his veins shrink. “I don’t ask the same questions twice, Pakku,” She makes him look up and face her, “ _ How do you know my name? _ ”

“Your grandmother!” He gasps and Katara loosens the grip on his veins.

_ Hama? _

“She told me about you when you were younger. I thought you were dead!” A sob escapes his lips as Katara thinks.

Hama rarely told anyone about her existence. No matter how pricey things were, Hama doesn’t speak about Katara if she were asked if she had any kids or grandkids. Matter-of-fact, she’d force the person to shut up if they even tried to ask her about her kin. Back then, Katara thought it was weird.  _ Why wouldn’t you want to talk about your grandkid(s)? Grandparents always seemed to talk about them as if they were precious jewels that are irreplaceable.  _ Katara always thought that Hama is just odd when it comes to things like that.

Is she hiding something?

“Do you not believe me?” He asks with a grunt.

Katara shakes her head.

“Water…” Pakku coughs up blood as Katara mercilessly watches, “...Tribal Records. Look there.”

  
  


Katara doesn’t see much need for Pakku anymore. She makes Pakku slam into the ground and says to him, “The Venom of the Red Lotus will live on.” With swift hand movement, his neck turns in an unnatural way, and a satisfying crack. The tension leaves her hands and she looks around for an escape and breaks the window.

  
  


-

When Katara finally finds Ming-Hua, she just doesn’t find her.

She finds the executive members of the White Lotus standing over an unconscious and beaten Avatar. Something about finding Aang unconscious does something to her. Her eye twitches and she walks up to them. “Ming-Hua, your job is supposed to be distracting him…” She speaks.

Ming-Hua and the rest of the Red Lotus members turn their focus from Aang to Katara. She smiles at Katara and tells her, “Well, my job is to get the Avatar to the Red Lotus base… Unless the Red Lady has something against this?”

Katara is admittedly hesitant. She isn’t above Ming-Hua, Ghazan, P’Li, or Zaheer. Anything she protests over will be overruled because she isn’t an executive like them and if she were to stomp her foot down, she’d be punished by Hama and sidelined by them. “Well, do you?” P’Li questions.

Katara speaks, “It’s my personal duty to kill the Avatar and anyone who he cherishes,” She lies, “If I don’t kill him, I’ll kill everyone in the Red  _ and _ White Lotus.” She looks upward toward P’Li’s eye-level and stays that way.

The air became thick and everyone stops momentarily. Ghazan drops Aang on the snow, Zaheer grabs his staff and tightens his grip on it, Ming-Hua glares at her protege (can she even call Katara that?), and most of all: P’Li’s face is contorted in anger as if she remembers the time with that horrible Warlord. The chilly wind blows through their hair and clothing, but was the wind chilly or Katara and the Red Lotus?

“Did you kill Master Pakku?” P’Li speaks.

“I did.” Katara confirms.

Another moment of silence follows. Katara fights the urge to look at the Avatar. She fights the urge to run over and reminds herself that  _ Aang isn’t Jet, and Aang isn’t Jet!  _ Because once she does, it’s over. Ming-Hua and Ghazan will be right and the thing that Hama raised her to be will fall.

_ “Love is for the weak. For the privileged. We’re not privileged, Katara.” _

“Okay,” P’Li says, the anger leaving her face and returning to the more neutral face Katara is used to, “But we have to go. Ghazan accidentally triggered their alarm and we don’t want to fight any more than we already did.”

Katara nods and steals a glance at Aang. He’s steep in snow and while some part of Katara wants to at least find a way to make it less sufferable, she can’t afford to let the mask slip. Ming-Hua stands next to her and without much hesitation, she and Ming-Hua waterbend a long surfboard for their companions and hastily leave.

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pakku? Helpful? WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT (not unheard of tbh)
> 
> Also hi! Did you enjoy this part :> The next chapter will be an interlude :) So stick around pls and maybe comment hehehe *please*

**Author's Note:**

> Can't see yall the next time I update this fic!! :D


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